
Glass— X L '48 
. Book__.ii4i 



A TOUR 



EGYPT, ARABIA PETlliEA, 



THE HOLY LAND, 



IN THE YEARS 1841-2. 



THE REV. H. P. MEASOR, M.A., 

FELLOW OP KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 



LONDON: 

FRANCIS AND JOHN RIVINGTON, 
st. paul's churchyard, and Waterloo place ; 
AND P. A. HANNAFORD, EXETER. 

1844. 



<3> 



London : 

Printed by S. & J. Bentley, Wilson, and Fley, 
Bangor House, Shoe Lane. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The author of the following pages feels that some 
apology is necessary, for bringing them before the 
public. So much has been written upon the sub- 
jects of which he treats, and descriptive of the places 
he has visited, that he can scarcely expect to add 
a great deal to the mass of information on these 
points, which is already before the world. The notes 
from which this narrative was compiled not having 
been written with a view to publication, he trusts 
that every allowance will be made for occasional in- 
accuracies if such should occur. The pleasure of the 
tour was much increased to him by the society of 
many agreeable friends, of whom two were his sole 
companions on the Nile ; and of these, one accom- 
panied him throughout the whole of his interesting 
route. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Departure from Malta. — Arrival at Alexandria. — Mah- 
moudieh Canal. — Atfe. — A shipwreck on the Nile. — Cairo. 
— Pyramids. ...... 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Minieh. — Siout. — Luxor. — Esneh. — Assouan. — Ascent 
of the Cataracts. — Kalabshe. — Ebsamboul. . . 29 



CHAPTER III. 

Ibrim. — Dehr. — Kolosko. — Dakke. — Philse. — Descent 
of the Cataracts. — Koum Ombos. — Edfou. — Medinet 
Abou. — Thebes. . . . . .61 

CHAPTER IV. 

Denderah. — Manpaloot. — Beni Hassan. — Pyramids of 
Sakkarah and Dashour. — Memphis. — Cairo. . . 102 

CHAPTER V. 

Starting for the Desert. — Suez. — Red Sea. — Wilderness 
of Sinai. — Convent of Mount Sinai. — Akabah. . .122 

CHAPTER VL 

Bargain with the El Alouin. — Departure from Akabah. — 
Petra. — Wady Arabah. — Hebron. — Bethlehem. . 151 



Vlll 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

PAGE 

Jerusalem. — Jericho.— Greek Pilgrims. — Dead Sea. .178 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Leaving Jerusalem. — Samaria. — Jezreel. — Nazareth. — 
Acre. — Mount Tahor. — Sea of Galilee. — Damascus. . 197 

CHAPTER IX. 

Leaving Damascus. — Baalbec. — Cedars of Lebanon. — 
Bisheri. — Aden. — Tripoli. — Beyrout. . . . 230 




ISLAND OF FMILM, UPPER EGYPT. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Abraham, Rev. C. J., Eton (2 Copies). 
Acland, Sir T. D., Killerton, Exeter. 
Alexander, D., Esq., Exeter (4 Copies). 
Allfree, Sydney, Esq., Tunbridge (2 Copies). 
Allfree, W., Esq., Iford, Sussex (2 Copies). 
Allfree, Rev. W. E., Rector of Southease, Sussex. 
Allfree, J., Esq., Brighton. 
Allfree, Mrs. J., Do. 
Allfree, Miss, Do. 

Allfree, T. R., Esq., Romanoff House, Tunbridge Wells. 

Allfree, G., Esq., Otham, Kent. 

Archer, E., Esq., Trelaske House, Cornwall. 

Arkcolle, Mrs., Hurstmonceux, Sussex. 

Armstrong, Rev. J., Exeter. 

Ash worth, Mrs., Do. 

Atkinson, Miss, Do. 

Ay re, Rev. Hull 

Bacon, J., Esq., Exeter. 

Barberie, J. N., Esq., Hurstperpoint, Sussex. 

Barker, E., Esq., Mount Vue House, Budleigh Salterton. 

Barker, Mr., Loughboro , ? Leicestershire. 

Barnes, the Ven. Archdeacon, Sowton, Exeter. 

Barnes, R., Esq., Exeter (6 Copies). 

Barrett, Rev. R. A. F., King's College, Cambridge. 

JBartlett, C. 0., Esq., Wareham, Dorset. 

Beard, E., Esq., Lewes. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Bellingham, Mrs. Warding, Sussex. 

Bennett, J., Esq., Salisbury. 

Bingham, Captain R. N., Exeter. 

Birch, H. M., Esq., Eton. 

Blaker, J., Jun., Esq., Southover, Lewes. 

Blaker, E., Esq., Lewes. 

Blatch, J., Esq,, Exeter. 

Blencowe, R. W., Esq., the Hooke, Sussex. 

Bridges, Mr., Cambridge. 

Brooke, J., Esq., Huddersfield (2 Copies). 

Brooks, W., Esq., Southampton. 

Brown, Mrs., 7, Lower Belgrave Street, Eaton Square. 

Budd, Rev. R., Tregony, Cornwall. 

Buller, Mrs. W., Whimple, Exeter (2 Copies). 

Buller, Mrs., Exmouth. 

Buller, Miss C, Do. 

Burnet, Rev. R., Southover, Lewes. 

Cantley, Rev. G. S., Castle Ashby Rectory. 

Carlyon, Rev. P., Exeter. 

Carter, Rev. W., Eton (2 Copies). 

Catt, W., Esq., Bishopstone, Sussex. 

Catt, Miss, Do. Do. 

Chapman, Miss, Lancing, Sussex (2 Copies). 

Charlton, Rev. C. D., Kingston, Sussex. 

Chave, Rev. E. W. T., Exeter. 

Chichester, Earl of, Stanmer Park (2 Copies). 

Chichester, Dowager Countess of. 

Clack, MrSi, Moreton, Exeter. 

Clarke, Mrs., Sid Abbey, Sidmouth. 

Coleridge, Sir J., London. 

Coleridge, F. G., Esq., Ottery St. Mary, Devon. 

Cole, Mrs., Exeter. 

Cole, Miss, Do. 

Cookworthy, Miss, Plymouth. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Courthope, Rev. W., Mailing, Lewes (2 Copies). 

Courthope, Mrs., Lewes (2 Copies). 

Crawford, R., Esq., Saint Hill, East Grinstead (4 Copies). 

Crawford, Mrs. C, Do. 

Crawford, R. H. P., Esq., 5th Dragoon Guards. 

Crawford, C. W. P., Esq., Brazen Nose, College, Oxford. 

Cresswell, G. H., Esq., Exeter. 

Cripps, J. M., Esq., Novington, Sussex. 

Crofts, Rev. P. G., Mailing, Lewes (4 Copies). 

Curteis, H. B., Esq., M.P., Windmill Hill, Sussex. 

Curteis, H. M., Esq., Do. Do. 

C. W.j Southampton. 

Dearden, Mr., Nottingham (3 Copies). 
Dicker, T., Esq,, Lewes. 
Dingley, R., Esq., Launeeston. 
Dix, Mrs., Newlyn, Cornwall. 
Dod, Miss, Exeter. 

Donald, Rev. M. H., Iford, Sussex (2 Copies). 
Durnford, Rev. J. E., Eton. 

Eastcott, Miss, Exeter. 

Ellicombe, Rev. R., Alphington, Exeter. 

Ellis, Mr. C, Richmond, Surrey. 

Ellman, J., Esq., Glynde, Lewes (2 Copies). 

Elphinstone, H. Esq., M.P., Eaton Place, Belgrave Square. 

Elphinstone, Mrs., Do. 

Elwood, Lieut. Col., Clayton Priory, Sussex. 

Essington, Rev. R. W., King's College, Cambridge. 

Everest, Rev. F. 

Faulconer, R. H., Esq., Lewes. 
Follett, Miss, Exeter. 
Ford, W., Esq., London. 

Franks, Mrs., Oakley House, Scole, Norfolk (2 Copies). 
Frazer, Mrs., Exeter. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Geast, Mrs., Lancing, Sussex (2 Copies). 

Glyn, Rev. G. H., Henham, Essex. 

Gore, Lady, 74, Chester Square (2 Copies). 

Graham, Mrs. J., Clapham Common. 

Green, J. S., Esq., Hurstmonceux, Sussex (2 Copies). 

Grove, G. W., Esq., Exeter. 

Gwatkin, J. Esq., Behan Park, Cornwall. 

Gwatkin, Miss, Plymouth. 

Haire, T., Esq., M.D., Lewes. 

Hallams, J., Esq., Maidstone. 

Hare, the Ven. Archdeacon, Hurstmonceux, Sussex. 

Harris, J., Esq., Exeter. 

Hart, Miss, Beddingham, Lewes. 

Harvey, Mr. G. H., Exeter. 

Harvey, Miss, Do. 

Hasty, C, Esq., East Grinstead, (2 Copies). 

Hawtrey, Rev. Dr., Eton (6 Copies). 

Hawtrey, the Misses, do. (2 Copies). 

Haynes, E., Esq., Exeter. 

Hayne, Mrs., Do. 

Heathcote, Rev. G., North Tarneston. 

Hepburn, Mrs., the Hooke, Sussex. 

Hillyar, Lady, Thankes, Cornwall. 

Hoper, G., Esq., Lewes. 

Hoper, J., Esq., Do. 

Hoper, Mrs., Do. 

Hooper, H., Esq., Exeter. 

Huisk, Rev. J., Do. 

Hunter, T., Esq., Budleigh Salterton. 

Hurly, Mrs., Iford, Sussex (4 Copies). 

Hurly, Miss, Do. 

Hutchings, Miss, Morwenstow, Cornwall. 

Ingram, Miss, Southover, Lewes. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Jackson, G. Esq., the Park, Blackheath, Kent, (2 Copies.) 
Janson, H. U. Esq., Exeter, (2 Copies.) 
Johnston, W. Esq., King's College, Cambridge. 
Johnson, Rev. E. H. Polling, Sussex. 

Kell, W. P. Esq., Lewes. 
Kennaway, Sir J. Escot, Exeter. 
Kidder, R. Esq., Lewes. 
Kingdon, Rev. T., Pyworthy, Devon. 
Knight, Rev. T. H., Exeter. 

Knight, J. P. Esq., R.A., 20, James St. Buckingham-gate, London. 
Knox, Mrs., Exeter. 

Lankeston, R., Esq., Southampton. 
Lawrence, T., Esq., Blackheath, Kent. 
Lear, Rev. F., B.D. Archdeacon of Sarum. 
Legh, Rev. J., King's College, Cambridge. 
Leggatt, H. B., Esq., Sherborne House, Gloucester. 
Lewis, J., Esq., Lewes. 

Lockyer, E., Esq. Emmanuel College, Cambridge (2 Copies). 
Loughboro', Permanent Library. 
Lovell, R., Esq., Reading. 

Mabbott, W. Esq., Lewes (4 Copies). 

Malcolm, W., Esq., Trinity College, Cambridge (8 Copies). 

Marsden, J., Esq., M.D., Exeter. 

Marshall, G., Esq., Southampton. 

Marks, Mr., Plymouth. 

Medley, Rev. J., Exeter. 

Medley, Mrs., Do. (2 Copies.) 

Miles, W., Esq., Do. 

Minty, A. H., Esq., Salisbury. 

Minty, W. H., Esq., Hammersmith. 

Michell, Rev. E. W., Exeter. 

Molesworth, Mrs. General, 161 Albany Street, London. 



LIST OP SUBSCRIBERS. 



Molineux, G., Jun., Esq., Lewes. 
Molineux, Mrs. Lewes. 
Molineux, T,, Esq., Do. 
Moore, Miss, Exeter. 
Mountford, J., Esq., Do. 
Murray, E., Esq., London. 
Musgrave, T., Esq., Bath. 
Musgrave, Miss, Do. 

Nantes, Rev. D., Powderham, Devon. 
Newton, — , Esq., London (2 Copies). 
Norris, T. G., Esq., Exeter (4 Copies). 

Okes, Rev. — , Eton (4 Copies). 

Page, S., Esq., Hadley, Cornwall. 

Parkin, H., Esq., Montague Square, London. 

Pattison, Mr., Exeter. 

Peacock, M. B., Esq., London. 

Peacock, Mrs., Do. 

Peacock, R. W., Esq., Do. 

Pelham, Lady Mary. 

Pelham, Lady Amelia. 

Pennell, R. L., Esq. M.D., Exeter (2 Copies). 

Poison, Mrs., Exeter. 

Pugh, Rev. G., M.A., Salisbury. 

Pyle, C. Esq., Amesbury. 

Pyke, Mrs., Western Road, Brighton. 

Rashdall, Rev. J., Exeter. 
Rashdall, Mrs., Cheltenham. 
Rashdall, Rev. R., Bury St. Edmunds. 
Richards, Major General, Exeter. 
Rideout, C, Esq., Gloucester (2 Copies). 
Rigden, G., Esq., Lewes. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Robinson, Mrs. A., Gerard, Rothby, Leicestershire, 
Roberts, A., Esq. M.D., Knowles, Hurstperpoint. 
Rodd, F., Esq., Trebartha Hall, Cornwall. 
Roland, Miss, Hoton, Leicestershire. 
Rosseter, J. M., Esq., Kennington (2 Copies). 

Salisbury and South Wilts Reading Society, Proprietors of the 

Sanders, Rev. L., Whimple, Exeter. 

Sanders, Mrs., Exeter (2 Copies). 

Saph, E., Esq., Stapleford, Salisbury. 

Saul, Mrs., Hanger House, Cornwall. 

Scobell, Rev. J., Lewes. 

Scobnes, W., Esq., Tunbridge, Kent. 

Scoones, J., Esq., Do. 

Shapter, T., Esq. M.D., Exeter. 

Shergold, Miss, Lewes. 

Shergold, Miss S. Do. 

ShirTner, Rev. G., Hamsey, Lewes. 

Sillifant, J., Esq., Coombe, Crediton (2 Copies). 

Skelton, Miss, Iford, Sussex. 

Smallpeice, Mrs. J., Compton, Surrey. 

Smallpeice, Miss, Northbrook, Godalming, Surrey. 

Smith, J., Esq. Lewes. 

Smith, Mrs., Do. 

Smith, Miss, Do. 

Smithers, H., Esq., Brighton. 

Spinks, T., Esq., St. John's College, Oxford. 

Spreat and Wallis, Messrs., Exeter. 

Standert, W., Esq., Brighton (4 Copies). 

Sterry, W., Esq., London (3 Copies). 

Sterry, Miss, Upminster, Essex. 

Stone, Rev. — , D.D , Wootton Rivers, Wilts. 

Stow, G., Esq., London. 

Strong, Mrs., Exeter. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Theed, E. R., Esq., King's College, Cambridge. 

Trevelyan, W. C, Esq., Nettlecombe, Somerset. 

Tribe, Mrs., Worthing. 

Tripp, Mrs., Exeter. 

Trist, Rev. S., Veryan, Cornwall. 

Tmscott, T. M., Esq., Launceston. 

Tucker, Rev. C, Exeter. 

Tucker, Rev. M., Do. (2 Copies). 

Veale, Miss, Exeter. 

Verrall, Mrs. W., Southover, Lewes. 

Veysie, Mrs., Plymtree, Devon. 

Vowler, J., Esq., Parnacott, Holsworthy, Devon (2 Copies). 

Walkey, S., Esq., Exeter. 
Walker, T., Esq., Tunbridge, Kent. 
Walker, T. ? Esq., London. 
Wallinger, Rev. W., Tunbridge Wells. 
Wallis, Mr. H. J., Hadley, Cornwall. 
Ward, Rev. H., Milton, Wilts (2 Copies). 
Ward, Rev. J., Great Bedwin, Wilts. 
Warrington, Mrs., Tor, Dev^n. 

Webber, G., Esq., Hexworthy House, Cornwall (2 Copies). 

Whitfield, T., Esq., Lewes (2 Copies). 

Williams, Rev. R., King's College, Cambridge. 

Williams, Mr. E., Southampton. 

Witts, W. F. Esq., King's College, Cambridge. 

Wyatt, H. P. Esq., Trinity Hall, Cambridge. 

Yonge, Rev. J. E., King's College, Cambridge. 
Yonge, J. A., Esq., King's College, Cambridge. 
Young, J. Esq., Hurstmonceux, Sussex. 



A TOUR 



IN 

EGYPT, ARABIA PE TRiE A, 

AND 

THE HOLY LAND. 



CHAPTER I. 

Departure from Malta. — Arrival at Alexandria. — Mahmoudieh 
Canal. — A tie. — A shipwreck on the Nile. — Cairo. — Pyramids. 

With a fresh breeze and a rough sea, we were soon 
outside the harbour of Malta. 

The weather continued stormy for the first few 
days of our passage ; but afterwards changed, and 
became so hot, that it was necessary to spread the 
awning, to protect the passengers from the fiery beams 
of the sun. 

On Wednesday the 22nd of December, 1841, every 
eye was strained to get a sight of land, as we were 
fast approaching it. The luggage was brought on 
deck, in order to be ready for its removal. At ten 
o^clock we saw the ships in the harbour, and Pompeys 
Pillar rising in the distance. The land, which to the 
west is extremely low, was not visible for some time ; 
but we soon had a view of the palace of the Pasha, and 
the Pharos. We passed two or three vessels bearing 

B 



2 



ARRIVAL AT ALEXANDRIA. 



Austrian and Neapolitan colours, coming out of the 
harbour ; and in about half an hour we discerned a 
boat approaching us, for which we waited. It con- 
tained an Arab crew bringing us a pilots The har- 
bour is difficult of approach, and cannot be entered at 
night, on account of the shoals and reefs which abound 
there. The boat at last reached us, and the pilot, 
who was a fine specimen of an Arab, with his tar- 
boosh, his dagger, his Jewish countenance and long 
beard, guided us safely, and in about three quarters 
of an hour we were among the Pasha 1 s line of battle 
ships, in front of his batteries and new palace. 

No one who has not seen it, can have an idea of the 
scene which ensues upon the arrival of a steamer at 
Alexandria. Half naked Arabs, in their curious 
costume, are hallooing to each other, in what, to a 
stranger, is the confusion of Babel, whilst the raises 
are using their thick sticks to some purpose among 
the inferior orders of boatmen. On landing, we were 
nearly torn in pieces by camel drivers and donkey 
boys, and till we had, in our self-defence, chosen a 
donkey from amongst the number which were offered 
us, we had no chance of escaping from their urgent 
entreaties. Nobody walks in the East : indeed, it is 
dangerous to attempt to do so, from the extreme 
narrowness of the streets, which are crowded with 
men, camels, and animals of all descriptions. A per- 
son soon learns to ride the donkeys, even with a 
Turkish saddle. Your Arab driver follows behind, 
and, whatever is your pace, contrives to keep up with 
you. Our camels were soon in readiness to convey 
our luggage, and knelt down at their masters' 1 orders 



ALEXANDRIA. 



3 



to be loaded. When this was done, we started for 
the hotel, and after threading many dirty lanes, with 
an Arab boy at our heels, our procession arrived at 
the grand square in which it is situated. 

We had chosen the Orient, and afterwards found 
that we had been fortunate in so doing, since the 
opposite inn was full of passengers on their way from 
England to Bombay, and consequently by no means 
agreeable. The comfort of a warm bath made us 
forget all the miseries of the steamer ; and now once 
again on terra firma, we found that we had a great 
deal to do in the way of lionizing. We were soon on 
the road to Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Needle. 
The former is a magnificent column with a Corinthian 
capital, measuring, together with its base and pedestal, 
ninety-four feet. It has been so often disturbed in 
the hope of finding treasures, that it inclines about 
seven inches to the S.W. Its shaft consists of a 
single piece of red granite, and a Greek inscription on 
the plinth of its base, records that it was erected by a 
prefect of Egypt, in honour of the Emperor Diocletian. 
Probably the first two letters P. O., which have 
only as yet been deciphered of this prefect's name, 
have given rise to the common appellation of this 
pillar. From its base are seen the Mediterranean 
sea, the Lake of Mareotis, the site of ancient Alex- 
andria, now a mass of unintelligible excavations, with 
the view of the battle-field on which the gallant Aber- 
crombie fell. 

N We mounted our asses again, and skirting the 
walls (for Pompey's Pillar is without the boundaries 
of the city), we entered by a different gate, and, 

B 2 



4 



ALEXANDRIA. 



wending our way along a dirty path, soon came in 
sight of Cleopatra's Needle. The whole height of the 
erect obelisk (for there is another lying near it on the 
ground), including the pedestal and the three steps, 
is about seventy-nine feet. It is, however, now in a 
great measure concealed under rubbish and sand. 
The effect of the atmosphere upon it is very apparent 
on the south side, where the hieroglyphics have been 
much effaced from this cause. On the other sides, 
and especially on the west side, they are deep and 
plain as if cut only yesterday. The other pillar, 
intended to be brought away by the English, is lying 
on its side, nearly buried in dirt and rubbish. These 
two obelisks formed the entrance to a temple, or pa- 
lace, of Csesar, and were probably removed from one 
of the ancient cities of Egypt by the Ptolemies. 

On returning to the town I entered a bazaar, and 
bought a carpet to serve me on board our boat. The 
streets of bazaars were to me a curious sight ; being 
extremely narrow, unpaved, full of dust in dry 
weather, and of mud when it rains. They are 
boarded over to protect them from the sun. In the 
shops are seen the proprietors, sitting cross-legged on 
their counters, in their gay Oriental costume, with 
their several wares piled round them. Of these, the 
most common are carpets, silks, pipes, and fruit. 
We spent a great time every day in making pur- 
chases in these bazaars for our journey. It was 
necessary to lay in supplies of tea, coffee, and fruit. 
We bought mattresses and coverlets, tea-things, 
and crockery of all kinds, knives and spoons, brandy, 
wine, and beer. To see the various parcels which 



MAHMOUDIEH CANAL. 



continually followed us to the inn, it was evident 
that we were about to commence housekeeping in 
earnest. 

The next thing of importance was to hire a drag- 
oman ; and, after mature deliberation, we agreed t© 
take a man of the name of Abraham, who offered him- 
self, into our service, and to whom we agreed to give 
fifteen dollars per month. We engaged also an 
understrapper, Giuseppe by name, who was anxious 
to accompany us to Cairo, on the condition that, if we 
did not like him, we should leave him there, and 
agreed to give each of them a month's wages at 
parting. 

Having arranged all preliminaries, we bade adieu 
to several friends who were embarking for India on 
the Mahmoudieh canal. A singular instance of an 
unpremeditated bon-mot amused us on this occasion. 
It so happened that the party had been furnished 
with a boat which afforded miserable and scanty ac- 
commodation. They were literally obliged to sit on a 
bench the whole night ; and on one of them expostu- 
lating with the rai's on the subject, exclaiming, 
" What ! are we all to sit up here," he coolly replied, 
" No, sir, you can sit down." This, for a man who 
knew scarcely any English, was by no means a bad 
rejoinder. It may be worth while to mention that 
the Mahmoudieh canal, by means of which Alex- 
andria communicates with the Rosetta branch of the 
Nile, was constructed under the present governor, 
Mohammed Ali, and is an instance of the vastness of 
his designs. It was restored and completed in 1820, 
by the labour of one hundred and fifty thousand 



6 



MAHMOUDIEH CANAL. 



Fellahs, of whom it is said, that twenty thousand 
died of fatigue. The whole length of the canal is 
about forty miles, but it is already much injured 
by deposits of mud, and can only be navigated when 
the waters of the Nile are high. 

Christmas day, 1841. — We left the hotel, provided 
with three donkeys for ourselves, two for our guides, 
and two camels, and arrived at the canal, about two 
miles off, where we found our boat. It was small 
but apparently clean, with three or four men besides 
the ra'is. On our camels coming up, we discovered 
that we had left behind us the casks containing our 
wine and brandy. We at last procured them from 
the inn, but found that we could not take our depar- 
ture without a tesJcere or permit for them. Failing in 
our attempt at the customhouse by the river, Abra- 
ham and myself got again upon our asses, and rode 
off to the great customhouse on the quay, in order 
to furnish ourselves with all that was necessary. We 
here found the head of the department, Metab Effendi, 
seated on a divan. He politely asked me to take a 
seat at his side ; told us, at first, that he could not 
give us the order, without an order from the English 
Consul, but at last relented and gave it to us. I 
thanked him and departed. This was my first inter- 
view with a Turkish officer. 

We rode back to the boat, and were soon under 
weigh ; but the wind being against us, our Arabs 
were obliged to jump on shore and tow^ us up. We 
proceeded in this manner at the rate of two and a 
half miles an hour. Having made ourselves as com- 
fortable as we could in our little cabin, by spreading 



ATFE. 



7 



out our mattresses, and arranging our coverlets as a 
protection against the cold, we arrived in the morn- 
ing, our men still towing us, at the village of Atfe. 
It is poor and dirty looking, though the entrance to 
it is pretty ; the canal being planted on each side 
with carruba trees, which have grown to a great 
height, considering that they have been planted but a 
few years. At Atfe the canal joins the river, which 
here is much crowded with vessels conveying mer- 
chandise between Cairo and Alexandria. It was 
necessary at this place, that we should exchange our 
boat for another, and immediately on our arrival we 
set out in search of one. We were, however, unfor- 
tunate ; as, after having wandered through the whole 
length of boats, which were offered to our notice, we 
could see nothing that at all answered our purpose, 
and returned to the boat to dinner, exposed to the 
annoyance of being in the vicinity of a low cabaret, 
which poured forth its swarms of noisy Arabs. A 
tremendous quarrel took place here; when, what with 
the screeching of the women, and the loud voices of 
the men, you might have fancied yourself in Bedlam. 
Soldiers at last arrived, who took off to prison an 
offender charged with ill-using his servant. As night 
approached, the Arabs were seen betaking themselves 
to their filthy huts, and those who were too poor to 
possess one, made their lodging on the cold ground by 
the banks of the river. The barking of dogs was 
incessant ; but in spite of all this, and the small 
extent of our cabin, we lay down to rest, wrapped up 
in our cloaks, Abraham having made arrangements, 
that he should be immediately informed of the arrival 



8 



ATFE. 



of any boat by which we might be conveyed to 
Cairo. 

We found our dragoman absent, on waking in the 
morning, but soon beheld him returning with the 
agreeable intelligence, that a boat had come in during 
the night, and that he had hired it for our use. We 
went to look at it, and found it larger than our last, 
with a large vacant space in front of the cabin, which 
formed an excellent divan. Having laid in a stock of 
provisions at Atffe, we transferred all our baggage 
from our old boat, and marched up to our future 
home with a long retinue of Arabs bearing baskets, 
trunks, cooking utensils, and all our paraphernalia. 
I spread my carpet on the space in front of our 
cabin, which became our sitting-room, and we began 
our \oyage to Cairo in good health and spirits. 
We were now fairly launched upon the Nile — the 
river sung and eulogized by poets in all ages — whose 
rise has been ever the subject of learned discussion, 
and still puzzles the philosopher, as it raises the ex- 
pression of gratitude from the devoted heart, — to 
whose fertile stream the Egyptians of present and 
past times have alike been indebted for their riches, 
— the river, in fact, of History and of Poetry. 

At Atfe, the Nile seems to deserve all its celebrity. 
It is here about a mile and a quarter, or a mile and a 
half in width, and flows at the rate of six miles an 
hour, exhibiting on its loamy banks all the pecu- 
liarities of Oriental scenery. The banks, which are 
perfectly flat, appeared in some parts beautifully 
green from the young corn then rising, and groves of 
palms reared their heads here and there to vary the 



ATFE. 



9 



prospect. On every side are scattered villages com- 
posed of mud huts, more like large ovens than any- 
thing else ; each has a single door, by means of which 
its wretched occupant enters. The first place we 
passed, on leaving Atfe, was Fonat, at a distance of 
nearly a mile. This town had looked beautiful the 
night before in the rays of the setting sun, but, as we 
approached it, all its beauty faded. It contains some 
mosques, a large manufactory of tarbooshes, and a 
caravansary. We had been towed up the river from 
Atfe for a considerable distance ; but, a side wind at 
length favouring us, our Arabs jumped into the boat, 
and we made about four or five miles by sailing. We 
passed, on the right hand, the scene of the engage- 
ment between the French and the Mamelukes in 
1799, when the indomitable courage of Mourad and 
Ibrahim Beys recoiled before the steady discipline of 
the French squares. About an hour before sun-set, I 
went to the stern to enjoy the view from it. It w r as 
a scene I shall long remember. The breeze was 
dying away, and many other boats, with their w^hite 
sails, were lying on the bosom of the majestic stream 
scarcely moving. The bright sun was shining on the 
unruffled surface, which here appeared like that of a 
huge lake ; and in the distance an Arab village, with 
an encampment of soldiers and its glittering mosques, 
bounded the horizon. The tints of the sky I have 
never seen equalled in Italy. It was reflected in the 
water by a broad band of yellow light, and the tower- 
ing palm trees stood out against it in bold relief. 
The sun soon descended, and the moon — a full moon 
— gently rose, and painted with her milder hues a 

B 5 



10 



ATFE. 



cloudless sky. Her yellow light, reflected from the 
glassy river as it caught her rays, contrasting with 
the deep blue sombre tints around, cannot be de- 
scribed. No one who has not seen a full moon in this 
country can conceive the effect of it. 

The breeze at last died away, and we found that 
our boat was for some time lying motionless on the 
water. Our Arab boatmen showed evident inten- 
tions of not going on ; and, finding that they had 
fastened the boat to the side of the bank, we were 
obliged to make them exert themselves. They are a 
sad lazy set, and seem not to value time in the least. 
Directly our backs were turned the towing rope was 
resigned upon some frivolous excuse, and we found 
that we were moored again to the shore. Now and 
then a gale arose, and we proceeded up the stream 
with well-filled sails, at the rate of seven or eight 
miles an hour. It was most exhilarating thus to be 
borne along with our bows almost dipped in the 
water, and the stream rippling against the sides of 
our boat. At sun-set we were obliged to have re- 
course to our towing rope, and made but little pro- 
gress. Oftentimes we got aground, and our Arabs 
were obliged to jump overboard to lift us off. The 
evenings were delightful, the moon rising in unclouded 
majesty, and throwing an almost golden mantle over 
the river and its banks. We felt the cold extremely 
during the night, and immediately before sun-rise it 
became most piercing. 

We passed several Arab villages, and occasionally 
sent on shore for milk, poultry, bread, and eggs. 
The sportsmen of the party amused themselves with 



ATFE. 



11 



firing at the wild fowl, which abound in these parts. 
On a shallow where we rested, the flocks of wild 
geese were prodigious ; but our shots failed in doing 
any execution among them. S — brought home two 
cranes after one of his walks, and N — a Hoopoe. 
We often went on shore for exercise, and on one 
occasion remained there so long, that it had been long 
dark before we discovered our Boat. At last the 
light in our cabin appeared, and, after walking ankle 
deep in sand, tired as we were we were not sorry to 
regain our divan. After coffee, a little chat, and an 
hour's gaze on the beautiful moon shining on the 
rapid current, we retired beneath our coverlets. I con- 
trived to get a little sleep, but S — was not so fortu- 
nate, as the rats, who seemed to be holding a council 
under his pillow, would not suffer him. We were 
exposed to every kind of vermin, and a little inspec- 
tion showed but too clearly, that we carried about 
with us more inhabitants than we suspected. We 
now hoped that we should soon reach Cairo, but our 
men had wasted so much time, that we found there 
was no necessity for procuring donkeys as yet ; and, 
with the wind fresh against us, we consented to be 
towed slowly up the river during the day. 

Up to this period, everything had gone compara- 
tively smooth with us, and little did we think that 
old Father Nile was about to play us such a trick as 
we soon had occasion to complain of. The day was 
gloomy and lowering, and there seemed to be that 
excessive stillness which so often, in all countries, 
precedes a storm. About dinner time it began to 
blow a complete gale from the unusual quarter of the 



12 



A SHIPWRECK ON THE NILE. 



south, and, ere long, it was evident that a storm had 
overtaken us. It suddenly became very dark, and 
our rais, afraid to move an inch, ordered his men 
on board to take down our yards and to moor the 
boat. The tempest was all this time increasing, and 
our crew, taking out of the vessel everything belong- 
ing to themselves that they could lay their hands on, 
advised us to do the same, telling us, by way of en- 
couragement, that the boat must go down ; indeed, 
at the time, this did not appear improbable, for the 
wind blew more violently than ever., and the water 
washed over the boat every instant. We, however, 
refused to move, and endeavoured to make ourselves 
as comfortable as we could, although our cabin was 
rapidly filling. The sailors left us to our fate, and 
all went on shore. I had the outermost place, and 
was, consequently, the most exposed to the water, 
which soon rose to the height of several inches under 
my feet, and, but for the slanting position of the 
boat, would have spread over the cabin. Our drago- 
man sought refuge in the luggage hold, and thus we 
went on for three or four hours, the boat, all the 
time, rolling tremendously and gradually filling ; and, 
had the stakes by which we were fastened given 
way, we must have had to swim for our lives. At 
length, finding our situation becoming every instant 
more hopeless, we took to flight about midnight, and 
landed safely on terra firma. We passed our lug- 
gage from one to another, till it reached the shore 
in safety, and found that, for the most part, it had 
escaped a wetting ; unfortunately for myself, my 
mattress and coverlet turned out to be in a sad state 



A SHIPWRECK ON THE NILE. 



13 



on its arrival on land. We were all, however, 
obliged to make the best of our situation, and, with my 
carpet over me, I soon fell asleep, in spite of the cold 
and the clouds of sand. Our Arabs, wrapped up in 
sails and blankets, were lying about not far from us, 
though they gave us no assistance ; and, at a few 
yards' distance, we remained together, with our trunks 
and carpet-bags piled up as a protection against 
the wind, and our double-barrelled guns at our sides 
in case of danger. In this way we slept till morning, 
unmolested by Bedouins or other midnight visitants, 
of whom our crew seemed no little afraid. 

We slept till dawn, and S — set off immediately, 
in company with Abraham, for the next village, 
in order to procure donkeys to take us to Cairo ; 
N — and myself going to look after the boat. We 
found it completely swamped, the masts only being 
above the water ; but, by the united efforts of our- 
selves and our men, we contrived at last to raise 
it. Our great washing-tubs were plied so vigorously, 
that the water was baled out in the course of an 
hour, and knives, forks, shoes, bottles, books, and a 
miscellaneous aggregate of culinary apparatus, gradu- 
ally became visible, although it was evident that 
much of our recently purchased equipment had dis- 
appeared and was irrecoverably lost. S — had been 
successful after a long walk, and, vowing we would 
have nothing more to do with so fickle and uncertain 
a means of communication as the Nile had proved 
himself, we left the boat to our under servants ; and, 
mounted on donkeys, accompanied by our dragoman, 
started for Cairo. Our costume was rather indica- 



14 



CAIRO. 



tive of our late misfortune; myself not the figure 
most suited for a small donkey, in a long great coat 
and a straw hat which had recently emerged from 
the bottom of the river, unwashed and unkempt, 
with my companions equally in deshabille and neg- 
lected toilets, a very second rate sportsman costume. 
For some time, we proceeded along the eastern bank 
of the river, and then, after the usual operation of 
coaxing, tugging, and, at length, actually lifting our 
donkeys, were ferried across to the western bank. 
We had been straining our eyes, for some time, to 
get the first glimpse of those mighty monuments of 
almost primeval antiquity, the Pyramids of Egypt, 
and, at length, after six hours' wading through bean 
and corn-fields, could just see the tops of their gi- 
gantic masses, as they overtopped the thick foliage 
of the trees which are found in this part of Egypt. 
Who has not heard from his childhood of the Py- 
ramids of Egypt ? who does not still associate with 
their names all that is vast in conception and labo- 
rious in undertaking ? and who does not feel an in- 
terest in these relics of the world's youth, beyond 
that which other remains of antiquity can inspire, 
from the indistinctness which still attaches to their 
founder, their construction, and the object of their 
existence ? I expected to see them, and to see them 
on a gigantic scale ; but I think no anticipations can 
equal the' reality. They seem to take up their place, 
not as a work of man, but as a feature of the coun- 
try, and you would as soon expect to see Egypt 
without the Nile, as without the Pyramids ; but 
more of these anon. 



CAIRO. 



15 



Continuing our route through the flat and fruitful 
country, which, from its number of trees, is by far 
the prettiest part of Egypt, about sunset we again 
underwent the process of re-embarking ourselves and 
our asses for the eastern side of the Nile, on which 
Cairo is situated. The river is here a magnificent 
stream, its banks luxuriantly wooded, with pretty 
minarets and domes rising above them all, while the 
vicinity of the old capital causes a little fleet of boats, 
with their tall and picturesque latteen sails, to be 
constantly moving, and gives an air of life and ex- 
citement to the scene, not often found in the East. 

. How shall I describe Cairo ? the most oriental of 
cities, where eastern manners are seen to as great 
perfection as anywhere, striking a stranger with its 
narrow streets, with coverings of wood, and houses 
with projecting galleries and wooden lattices. Camels 
and donkeys are here seen hurrying along, where 
the scorching beams of Egypt's sun can never pene- 
trate, and the lazy Turks, 

" With turban'd heads of every hue and race, 
Like tulip beds of different shapes and dyes," 

in their oriental costume, lounge away their time in 
their bazaars, or ride slowly on horseback, whilst 
their slaves follow in the rear, to carry their pipes. 
Its mosques, with their splendid domes ; baths, of 
which there are between sixty and seventy ; its 
public gardens, with their groves of orange and le- 
mon-trees and vines, — all conspire to render this an 
enchanting spot ; but, when we consider it as the 



16 



CAIRO. 



scene of a great portion of Scripture history, so 
familiar to us, that here dwelt the sages of Egypt, 
and that wise men of Greece trod the same ground 
as ourselves, and marvelled at those self-same ruins 
that astonish the modern traveller, what words can 
describe the interest which this place occasions ? 

The day after my arrival at Cairo being Sunday, 
I endeavoured to find out the church, and, mounted 
on my donkey, after wandering through some of the 
narrowest and darkest lanes that I had yet seen, 
and meeting no one but a Turk here and there, as 
he sat smoking at his door, I at last discovered it. 
A foreign gentleman read prayers, and Mr. L — , 
a chaplain on his way to India, gave us an excellent 
sermon. I afterwards joined a cavalcade for the 
purpose of visiting Schoobra, the palace and gar- 
dens of the Pasha. They are very prettily laid out, 
and are about five miles in extent, the road on each 
side being planted with trees, which completely meet 
across. The pavilion which was in course of erec- 
tion by the Pasha is curious. It is situated in the 
centre of a lake, on which it stands, having around 
it a covered walk, supported by pillars and orna- 
mental lions at the corners, and small rooms for 
smoking. The Italian garden, to which we next 
mounted, contains a poor collection of flowers, though 
the orange and lemon-trees and myrtle borders are 
very fine. ' We afterwards visited the elephant, a pre- 
sent of our government to the Pasha. Captain Gra- 
ham, by whom it was brought over, was with us at 
the time, and stated to us that it cost 2500 rupees, 
the whole expense having been 7000?. 



CAIRO. 



17 



The next day I joined a party to visit the ruins 
of Heliopolis. We started at half past ten, a.m., and 
had a ride of full an hour and a half before we got 
out of Cairo. On passing out at the gate, we found 
ourselves immediately on the desert, across which we 
travelled for about two hours, with the long line of the 
tombs of the Caliphs on our right hand, and the green 
corn-fields of Egypt on our left. We arrived at He- 
liopolis, or On, the residence of J oseph, at one o^ clock, 
where I was disappointed at finding a single obelisk 
was all that remained to mark the site of this an- 
cient city. I walked to some mounds near at hand, 
whence I could clearly ascertain its extent. Anx- 
ious as I was to return with some trophy of my 
expedition to these ruins, I looked in vain for any 
relic which was at all worth the trouble of bringing 
away. On our road back, which was not across the 
desert, but by a more agreeable course, we passed by 
the holy tree under which J oseph and Mary are said 
to have rested in their flight into Egypt. It is a fine 
old fig-tree, growing by the side of a well ; but, 
though a probable place of rest for a weary traveller, 
I suspect it is indebted to monkish legends for its 
celebrity, rather than to any well authenticated cer- 
tainty of the story with which it is connected. 

The architecture of some of the gates of Cairo, as 
well as the doorways of private dwellings, is richly 
ornamented, the principal decoration being that curi- 
ously traced workmanship, thence called the Arabesque. 
The citadel of Cairo, no traveller should neglect 
to visit, interesting as it is from its historical associa- 
tions as well as actual position. It was the work of 



18 



CAIRO. 



the conqueror of the Fatimites — the victorious Sala- 
din — the scourge of Christendom, yet the most chi- 
valrous and courteous of the warriors of the crescent, 
who here lived. Since his time, it has been the resi- 
dence of the lords of Egypt ; but in later times, it 
has earned a painful interest from the slaughter of 
the Mamelukes by the present Pasha of Egypt. 
Depressed as they were in morals to the lowest pitch 
of degradation, and cruel and rapacious as the go- 
vernment was, yet one could hardly contemplate 
without some feelings of pity the court in which the 
remnant of the brave fellows who had earned such a 
brilliant reputation, and who proved their dauntless 
courage against French bayonets, were butchered in 
cool blood by their more fortunate and suspicious 
master. Two of them contrived to escape, one, by 
riding his horse over the wall, a tremendous height, 
and though his horse was killed, he himself escaped, 
and, I believe, another is still living at Cairo, the 
last representative of his fallen race, much too insig- 
nificant to excite apprehension. In the citadel, is 
Yusef \s well, about three hundred feet deep, the work 
of Saladin. It communicates with the Nile, from 
which the water is brought up by a wheel turned by 
an ox. You can descend to the level of the water 
by a stone staircase cut in the rock. But the view, 
particularly if the traveller will mount the hill to- 
wards sunset, is a sufficient reward for the toil. Be- 
neath you is Grand Cairo with the usual Eastern 
characteristics of domes, minarets, courts with foun- 
tains, cypress groves, clearly seen as in a picture, and 
encircling you on all sides. Without the city wall, 



PYRAMIDS. 



19 



to the east is the city of the dead — the tombs of the 
Caliphs and Mameluke Beys — a pretty sight with a 
variety of cupolas and minarets surmounting their 
last resting-place ; but, though fair to the eye, these 
" whited sepulchres" prove, on a nearer inspection, as 
decayed as their tenants. To the west, a deep mar- 
gin of green skirts the majestic course of the Nile 
on either side for a considerable distance, the huge 
memorials of the Egyptian kings bounding your 
view. No one, I think, will forget a sunset from 
the citadel of Cairo, when the orb of day sets with 
a purple and lurid hue behind the sandy desert, and, 
some minutes after he is no longer visible himself, 
the lofty tops of the Pyramids are lighted up by his 
golden beams. 

After having put off our journey to Upper Egypt 
for two or three days, we set off for the Pyramids ; 
and, passing through fields in a beautiful state of cul- 
tivation, our road being planted on each side with 
carruba and other trees, we soon arrived at Old 
Cairo, three miles distant. This is a poor mean 
place, situated on the eastern bank of the Nile. Near 
it is the island of Blioda, said to be the scene of the 
finding of Moses, and the famous Nilometer that has 
for a thousand years marked the rise of the river. At 
this point we crossed the Nile — our asses in one boat, 
and ourselves in another — and, on reaching the oppo- 
site bank, the Pyramids appeared to our view. We 
were at first very much deceived as to their distance, 
but soon found out our mistake, when we discovered 
that we were no less than two hours in getting up to 
them. The day was bright and sunny, and the 



20 



PYRAMIDS. 



ground under our feet teemed with produce of all 
kinds. The beans, which were in full blossom, gave 
quite a perfume to the air. Before reaching the Py- 
ramids, the cultivated land ceases, and you find your- 
self on the sandy soil of the desert. They are built 
on a plateau of rock, the sides of which are burrowed 
into tombs. The largest appears to consist of a 
series of platforms, each being smaller than that on 
which it rests, and, consequently, presenting the ap- 
pearance of steps, which diminish in length from the 
bottom to the top. When at their feet, it struck me 
that the Pyramids appeared less than when I was at 
a greater distance. This effect arises solely from the 
absence of every thing, whereby their colossal size 
can be measured. They stand out against the clear 
blue sky on the wide expanse of the desert, and it is 
only when some object is seen at their base, or craw- 
ling over their sides, and thereby instituting a com- 
parison with their vast tiers of stones, that you be- 
come convinced that all descriptions of these mighty 
memorials of antiquity are not overcharged. 

I here dismounted to visit the famous Sphinx.* It 

* " At little more than an arrow's flight from these Pyramids is 
a colossal figure of a head and neck projecting from the earth. 
The name of the figure is Aboo Ihaul, and the body to which 
the head pertains is said to be buried under the earth. To judge 
from the dimensions of the head of those of the body, its length 
must be more than seventy cubits. On the face is a reddish tint, 
and a red varnish as bright as if fresh put on. The face is re- 
markably handsome, and the mouth expresses much grace and 
beauty. One might fancy it smiling gracefully. 

" At the period these statues were formed, the worship of idols 
was universally spread over the earth, and reigned among all na- 



PYRAMIDS. 



21 



is a colossal figure — half man and half beast, pro- 
bably extending to the height of sixty or sixty-five 
feet, with rather a mild expression of countenance. 
Captain Caviglia, who has laboured so long amongst 
the Pyramids, cleared away the sand from around 
the Sphinx nearly twenty years ago, but the winds 
since that time have completely concealed the lower 
part of it by this shifting material. We visited the 
immense excavations made by Colonels Campbell 
and Vyse, and which brought to light several Sarco- 
phagi and other articles which are always found in 
Egyptian tombs. They extend to a great depth, but 
from the expense and labour of working, no one is 
at present engaged in the investigation. It is very 
probable that they formed a part of the great Necro- 
polis which extends from Djizeh to Sakkarah, and 
is supposed to have anciently been the places of inter- 
ment for the people of Memphis. 

One experiences a great deal of annoyance on a 
visit to the Pyramids, from the crowds of naked 
Arabs, who contrive to gain a trifle by conducting 
travellers to the top and interior of these buildings. 
They fasten upon you in much greater numbers than 
are requisite, and if they do not see you determined, 

tions. For this reason it is that God, in the Alcoran, says speak- 
ing of Abraham : ( Abraham formed a nation ; he was obedient to 
God, a true believer, and not of the number of Polytheists.' 
These words signify that Abraham was the only man of his time, 
who professed the dogma of the Unity, and that he thus formed 
in himself a nation apart, being distinguished and separated from 
the rest of men, by a creed opposite to those they professed." — ; 
Abd Allatifh Relation respecting Egypt. 



22 



PYRAMIDS. 



(and your determination to be freed from them must 
be pretty vigorously expressed,) they will annoy you 
to a great extent. On their joining us, I made choice 
of two to assist me in mounting to the top, and to 
be my escort into the interior. I found that these 
guides were indispensable in enabling me to climb the 
steep sides of the Pyramids, about which they jump 
with the greatest confidence and security. In ascend- 
ing the great Pyramid, I gave myself up to their direc- 
tion ; and, each taking me by the hand, I was soon 
lifted up the steep stairs by which the top is reached. 
The huge blocks of stone decrease in size as one ascends, 
their greatest height being four feet and two thirds, 
and their least, two feet and two thirds. It may be 
easily imagined that the ascent is no easy matter ; but, 
after resting once, I accomplished it and reached the 
summit without difficulty. A third Arab had volun- 
teered his services, and accompanied me for a great 
part of the distance, but finding that he only im- 
peded my progress, I despatched him. 

My friends soon joined me on the top, which con- 
sists of a platform nearly thirty-three feet square. 
The view from it is singular. On the west and south 
west extends the arid and sandy desert. On the 
east and south east, the Nile is seen rolling its 
mighty stream between the narrow tracts of bright 
green which constitute the land of Egypt, whilst 
the city of Cairo with its mosques and minarets and 
gardens shining in the sun, and the citadel on the 
ridge of hill above, backed by the undulations of 
the desert on the other side, terminate the view in 
this direction. Towards the north, the river tapers 



PYRAMIDS. 



23 



away into a narrow silvery band, until it gradually 
loses itself in the blue tints of the distant horizon. 
I was quite conscious of the height at which I 
stood, (four hundred and fifty-six feet from the 
ground,) when I looked down upon the Sphinx, now 
reduced to the size of an ordinary figure, and on 
men and donkeys below us, so small as to appear 
but minute specks upon the ground. 

The sun's rays were so scorching, that we were 
glad to descend, and, accompanied by my two Arabs, 
I reached the bottom in safety ; the steps being 
so wide, that, with a little care, there is no danger. 
The ladies of our party who had just been visiting 
the interior of the Pyramid, now proposed to make 
the ascent of it. Assisted by these Arabs, they 
soon accomplished their purpose and appeared to 
enjoy their visit very much, nor could I discover 
in them any greater signs of fatigue than we ourselves 
manifested. 

We now procured lights and entered the great 
Pyramid,* at about forty-seven feet from its base ; 
and on the fifteenth step from the foundation. The 
passage to which the opening leads is between three 
and four feet square, and lined with polished lime- 
stone ; the stones on which you tread having holes 
in them to prevent slipping. After groping for some 
time amidst dirt and rubbish, ascending and descend- 
ing by turns, we arrived at the Queen's Chamber, a 
room of great extent, containing a sarcophagus. 
There are numerous chambers in the building, seve- 



* See Appendix, A. 



24 



PYRAMIDS. 



ral of which have been discovered within the last few 
years. The King's Chamber is the longest, extend- 
ing to upwards of thirty-four feet. Its width is 
seventeen feet, and the roof is formed of nine slabs 
of granite, reaching from side to side, so that their 
length is more than seventeen feet. It contains a 
sarcophagus of red granite without hieroglyphics ; 
the cover is gone, having, probably, been broken and 
carried away. There are numerous passages in all 
directions, and, probably, others are yet to be brought 
to light, if one can so speak. They are extremely 
narrow, so that it is a work of no ordinary difficulty 
to make one's way through them, and the heat is 
so oppressive, that it requires a good share of 
antiquarian zeal to persevere in the laborious under- 
taking of fully examining these interesting excava- 
tions. 

On emerging to the light of day, we found the 
rest of our party, who had just descended, preparing 
to make a visit to the second Pyramid — that of 
Cephrenes. The coating of polished stone, which 
Herodotus mentions, is still visible at the top of it, and 
for some feet downward. The rest has been removed 
like that which originally covered the Great Pyramid, 
probably by some of the many masters into whose 
hands Egypt has fallen. Its height is four hundred 
and fifty-six feet to the apex. The Pyramid of 
Mycerinus, the third of the Djizeh group, is much 
smaller than the other two. Its height does not 
exceed one hundred and seventy-four feet, nor the 
side of the base three hundred and thirty. A con- 
siderable number of blocks of red granite on the 



PYRAMIDS. 



25 



north side, clearly show that it originally possessed 
a coating of that material. It has not yet been 
opened. 

We returned through the sand to the holes in the 
rock upon which the Pyramids are built, and were 
not sorry to recruit our strength by some cold provi- 
sions which we had brought with us from Cairo. 
The room in which we feasted, though humble 
enough, was tenanted by Colonel Vyse, during the 
time he was occupied in his researches. At about 
3 p.m. we prepared for starting. I remained behind, 
for some time, with some of our party who were 
engaged in taking sketches, and, in the end, we were 
all obliged to hurry forward in order to overtake the 
rest. We came up to them just as they arrived 
at the ferry, and we crossed the Nile with such a 
sunset before us as is rarely seen, even in this cli- 
mate. The sky was painted with every imaginable 
tint, from the brightest red to the darkest purple ; 
and the river reflected in his bright waters the palm- 
trees and mosques glowing with the setting sun, 
whilst the dim horizon was terminated by the fainter 
shadows of the Mokattam mountains. It was dark 
before we reached the town, and we had some labour 
in making our way through its dark alleys, — now 
jostling some fat unwieldy Turk, and now running 
foul of a long string of donkeys. Before we reached 
our quarters night had fairly set in. 

We found, on our arrival at the inn, that Lord 
E — had arranged with the celebrated sheikh to ex- 
hibit his magical wonders. This is the same man 
with the belief of whose supernatural powers Mr. 

c 



26 



CONJUROR. 



Salt and Lord Prudhoe were so deeply impressed. 
For my part, I am no believer in necromancy ; and 
certainly, if I had been so, I mnst, on this occasion, 
either have looked upon the sheikh as a most out- 
rageous impostor, or, otherwise, have entirely al- 
tered my opinion respecting the art to which he 
pretended ; for a more signal failure it would be 
impossible to witness. The conjuror seated himself 
with great dignity on the floor, and ordered a 
chafing-dish of hot charcoal to be placed before him. 
A boy was then produced, into whose hands he 
poured a little ink from an inkhorn he had brought 
with him. He was told to look intently into the 
ink and state what he saw, but it appeared that 
his sense of vision was not so sharp as was desi- 
rable, for, after gazing for a short time, he acknow- 
ledged that he could see nothing. Another boy 
was then substituted for this unsatisfactory urchin, 
and seemed to answer the sheikh's purpose much 
better, as he readily replied to all questions put to 
him respecting absent individuals. An Irish gen- 
tleman present began by calling for a description 
of two or three friends, but, from the boy's account, 
was not at all able to recognize them. N — then 
prevailed upon his sister and cousin, at the sheikh's 
request, to take their seats upon the incantation 
stool, and the requisite quantity of ink having been 
poured into their hands, they were asked to hold 
them over the smoke and state what they saw in 
the ink, the sheikh all the time muttering some 
spell. They looked, but looked in vain, for they 
could not even see their own faces ; and, after 



DEPARTURE FROM CAIRO. 



27 



a few more spells had been uttered, and we had 
given the sheikh every facility, still there was no 
appearance of anything, and the ladies retired. A 
third boy was then introduced, ready to see any~ 
thing and everything. Sundry persons were called 
for and appeared immediately ; but, alas ! quantum 
mutati ! At last the infant Prince of Wales was 
asked for, and showed himself to the boy's super- 
natural vision without a beard, but with whiskers. 
This was too much for our patience, and, with a 
loud shout of laughter at the climax of the im- 
position practised upon our credulity, the meeting 
dispersed. The next evening, a juggler from the 
fair delighted us, for some time, with his tricks, 
and appeared a greater master of his art than the 
magician. 

During the remainder of our residence at Cairo, 
we were much occupied in providing our outfit, 
and in getting all things ready for our departure. 
We had engaged a very good boat for our pur- 
pose ; but, ascertaining that our claim to it was 
disputed, we were obliged to relinquish that claim, 
and finally completed the hire of another for three 
thousand piasters, a very great price. But what 
was to be done I Everybody was in search of a 
boat, and the proprietors, taking advantage of this 
circumstance, were very extravagant in their de- 
mands. The rais, with the accustomed procrastina- 
tion of Arabs, was very desirous of detaining us 
longer than we wished. We had, already, spent 
more time in Cairo than we originally intended, and 
were anxious to leave it. Accordingly, we urged 

c 2 



28 



DEPARTURE FROM CAIRO. 



our men to exert themselves ; and, having packed all 
our luggage on three camels and two donkeys, and 
taken leave of our kind friends at the Hotel, we 
wound our way to Boulac, where our boat was 
lying. 



THE NILE. 



29 



CHAPTER II. 

Minieh. — Siout. — Luxor. — Esneh. — Assouan. — Ascent of the 
Cataracts. — Kalabshe. — Ebsamboul. 

January the 9th. With as fair a wind as we 
could wish, we now loosed our moorings and began 
our long-expected voyage up the Nile. Our little 
boat spread its two tall latteen sails to the breeze, 
and we were borne up the river at the rate of five 
or six miles an hour. The boat was smaller than 
I expected, and a night's rest (for our rais had de- 
tained us at Boulac in order that he might lay in 
further provisions) had convinced us, before starting, 
that, although it had been sunk for twelve hours, 
it still swarmed with vermin of all sorts. There 
was now no remedy, and we made up our minds 
to make the best of it. Our dragoman told us that 
we were, indeed, fortunate in having such a wind, 
since many persons had been obliged to wait for a 
week or two before they were so favoured. 

The Nile, opposite Boulac, is full a mile in breadth, 
and presents a glorious spectacle, the shores, on 
both sides, being fringed with palaces, mosques, and 
palm-groves. Really, it is almost an Arabian Night's 
scene. The boats and men are so picturesque, as 
they flit by you, and the pretty succession of white 



30 



THE NILE. 



domes and minarets, palm-groves over the brown 
mud hovels, the deep green fields, intersected by 
broad canals, and bright yellow sands in contrast, 
put you in mind of some dissolving view, as each 
and all hurry by you. In half an hour, we were 
abreast of the isle of Rhoda, a pretty spot, ex- 
hibiting a palace and a forest of trees upon it. 
We were some time in getting up the narrow pas- 
sage between it and the mainland, but, at last, found 
ourselves upon the broad Nile again, with the ma- 
jestic Pyramids directly opposite us. As we steadily 
advanced against the stream, those of Dashour and 
Sakkarah came in sight, whilst their gigantic brethren 
of Djizeh vanished in the distance. 

The Nile, above Cairo, presents no great variety. 
On the west side is a narrow belt of cultivated coun- 
try, with the desert beyond it, and, on the east, the 
Mokattam mountains gradually approach nearer the 
river, till are distinctly seen their immense quarries, 
which were probably used for the buildings of the 
neighbouring towns, and, no doubt, furnished mate- 
rials for the Pyramids. They extend for several 
miles,* and were even to be traced after the sun was 
below r the horizon. We found great difficulty in 
making our men sail during the night ; on the least 
excuse, and especially if we were in bed, they would 
moor us to the bank and go on shore. There was, 
certainly, at times, uncommonly little wind, and 

* Abd Allatif says of these excavations, " A man on horse- 
back, with his lance erect, may enter them and make excursions 
for a day together, without having traversed the whole, so nu- 
merous and vast are they, and of such great extent," 



THIEF ON BOARD. 



31 



we crept along at a very low pace. We passed 
several gorges, where the river flowed with great 
rapidity, as also two or three islands, that of Bibbe 
being nicely planted. We, at last, went on shore 
to amuse ourselves and entered an Arab village, 
now nearly deserted, leaving our boatmen, with their 
usual social habits, to make up to a knot of boats 
that was moored just above ours. 

We returned to our beds in the evening, but 
had not been asleep two hours, when a noise from 
the deck awoke us. It proceeded from Abraham, 
who slept there. I sprang instinctively from my bed, 
fancying that there was an incursion of Bedouins, 
but could soon clearly distinguish the voice of our 
dragoman complaining in bitter accents, " I am 
robbed and have lost everything." We all imme- 
diately got up and went on deck, but as usual 
were a little too late. We endeavoured to discover 
whether the thief had come from the village or the 
boats, but all to no purpose ; and after the confusion 
of voices and lighting of lanterns we had retired to 
rest, fully convinced that nothing was to be done, 
and everything was again quiet, when a voice was 
heard on shore, saying, " Here are your things." 
And on examination it was found, that Abraham's 
two coats and three pair of stockings had been 
thrown on the ground. The thief was rather accom- 
plished : he had entered the boat and taken posses- 
sion of a basket of clothes which had been just 
washed, and a pair of shoes, and was proceeding to 
leave the deck, when a pair of saddle-bags under 
Abraham's head suggested itself as too great a prize 



32 



GEBEL EL TEIR. 



to lose. This contained almost our dragoman's 
earthly all, and the abstraction of it had the effect 
of waking him only just in time to recognize a figure 
quietly retreating in the obscurity of night. At sun- 
rise we paid a visit to the Sheikh of the village to tell 
him of our disaster, but the only answer we got from 
him was, that there were no robbers in that part. 
We promised to give him a call on our return, and 
soon quitted the unlucky spot, telling our rais that 
we expected that he should make good our losses 
since he had neglected to provide us with a watch as 
he had promised. 

A breeze soon sprang up, and we sailed along right 
merrily during the whole of the day, making great 
progress against the rippling current. A little after 
dusk, however, our rais became alarmed and took down 
the main-sail, saying that he was afraid of the squalls 
of the Gebel el Teir, from which we were not far dis- 
tant ; and in the morning we found ourselves moored 
with some other boats against the western bank. 
We soon discovered that one of the boats was that of 
Lord E — , with whom we had travelled from Malta, 
and who had left Cairo two days before us, but had 
staid at Sakkarah to see the Pyramids in the neigh- 
bourhood. We hailed each other and gave an account 
of our exploits since we had parted. His boat was 
the best that I have ever seen, having a white and 
red pennant flying from the mast. 

The breeze blowing fresh, we ascended the stream 
rapidly, and soon came opposite the Gebel el Teir, a 
projecting chain of mountains on the eastern side, 
on the highest point of which is a Coptic convent, 



JVIINIEH. 



33 



where Ibrahim, Pasha retired during the plague. It 
is customary at this point to levy contributions on 
passing boats, and a person is sent from the convent 
to collect them. It was not long before we recog- 
nized a naked figure darting along a path half way 
up the mountain, who, heading us for some time, at 
last swam over to our boat. We gave him three 
piasters. He begged a bottle of wine for the priest, 
but, not wishing to satisfy the bibulous propensities 
of the worthy minister, we sent him off. 

In the company of our friends we reached Minieh, 
exactly four days after leaving Boulac. On ap- 
proaching the town we saw the Pasha's officials in 
their uniform, with their horses, and the Egyptian 
colours flying. On inquiring we learnt that Me- 
hemet Ali was making a circuit of his dominions, 
and was at that time at Minieh. We went on shore 
to get provisions, and were obliged to wend our way 
through the usual dark and dirty lanes of an eastern 
town. In fact, so great is the filth of all descriptions 
in an Arab town, and so miserable and ill-ventilated 
are they, that the only wonder is, that they are ever 
free from disease. On arriving in the main street I 
was surprised to see all the shops shut, and an air of 
desertion pervading everything. My dragoman in- 
formed me that the inhabitants had left the town 
owing to the oppression of the Pasha's government. 
The place, indeed, was so poor that we were obliged 
to return without meat, having been able to furnish 
ourselves with only a small supply of bread. I 
observed, on leaving the town, the gallows, which, 
I was told, was always erected at the time of the 



34 



MINIEH. 



Paslia's residence in any place, to be a terror and a 
punishment to the refractory. 

About eighty or ninety miles above Minieh, there 
is a magnificent reach in the river, which gives it the 
appearance of a lake six or seven miles long. It 
then becomes narrower than I had yet seen, the Mo- 
kattam mountains advancing to the very shore. In 
this gorge is the village of Beni Hassan, remarkable 
for its excavations. Soon after, we passed the sugar 
manufactory of the Pasha, which is conducted by an 
Englishman. We for some time had very little 
wind, and were forced to punt across the shallows ; 
a breeze at last sprang up, and we were borne along 
at a rapid rate, considering ourselves fortunate in 
having in five days made half our way to Thebes, a 
distance of more than two hundred miles. The Ara- 
bian hills at this part became very high, and though 
we passed under them with only our foresail, yet so 
heavy were the squalls that we fully expected to ship 
some water, and had great difficulty in preventing our 
glasses and plates from capsizing. These squalls come 
on very suddenly, and are often the cause of boats 
upsetting during the night. After keeping under the 
hills for some time, the river takes a sudden bend to 
the west, at the end of which stands the town of 
Manpaloot. Here our friends, with some other Eng- 
lish and American boats, rested for the night. We, 
however, would not suffer our rai's to stop, who to 
revenge himself, though the gusts of wind were ter- 
rific, crowded all his sail and sent us on at a fearful 
rate, and at last a mile further on moored us out of 
the wind. 



SIOUT. 



35 



Soon after Lord E — 's boat followed us. We 
hailed it, and he invited us on board ; where, with 
pipes and conversation, we prolonged the social hour 
till late at night. Early in the morning, in the hopes 
of getting hucksheesJi at Siout, our Arabs plied the 
towing line ; but, a wind springing up at sunrise, 
we unfurled our sails. We had not very long to 
congratulate ourselves on our good fortune, for the 
breeze died away, and we got becalmed. I went on 
shore for a walk, but found the heat of the sand so 
excessive, that I was obliged to wait an hour for the 
boat, which was punted against a swift stream at the 
slowest pace possible. By taking advantage of the 
" breeze that follows aft," as often as we were able, 
we contrived to reach Siout in the evening, where 
we found anchored a little fleet of boats, amongst 
which we soon recognized that containing some 
friends who had left Alexandria before us. 

We visited the town of Siout to make a few pur- 
chases. It is approached by a raised causeway of 
about a mile in length, prettily planted, on the left 
of which is the palace of Ibrahim Pasha. Siout is 
the most considerable place in Upper Egypt ; but 
the streets are without pavements, narrow and dirty, 
and the bazaars are not of a first-rate description. 
As it happened to be market-day, there was a large 
concourse of persons assembled here, from whom we 
were glad to escape and visit the caverns on the hill, 
about two or three miles from the city. These are 
very extensive, and consist of chambers sculptured in 
the solid rock, and supported by pillars, some of which 
remain. In the floor are deep excavations, in which 



36 



AULJ50P0LIS. 



the bodies were sunk, as also at the angles. The 
rooms are ornamented with hieroglyphics, which are 
beautifully sculptured and in a good state of preserva- 
tion. The best are those of three rows of men repre- 
senting warriors marching in procession and armed 
with spears and shields, whilst the others consist of 
the usual figures of birds, beasts, and composite mon- 
sters. The entrance is by a doorway, five and twenty 
feet high, and ornamented with a colossal figure of a 
man at the side. We afterwards ascended to the 
summit of the hills which bound the Libyan desert 
and command a fine view over it. The Nile, still as 
large as ever, with its luxuriant crops covering its 
banks ; the mosques of Siout rising prettily, and the 
Turkish burial-ground penetrating far into the desert, 
appeared to great advantage. We returned to our 
boat, and having made a few alterations in it for 
our comfort, wanted only a smart breeze to carry us 
to Thebes. 

A little after midnight we loosed our moorings 
and passed through some beautiful scenery, with the 
mountains extending three hundred feet almost per- 
pendicularly, and advancing for a considerable dis- 
tance into the stream. On their sides appeared many 
tombs as well as building-places for birds, of which 
there was a great number. Lord E — and ourselves 
awoke the echo every now and then with our guns, 
and the effect was prodigious. We passed the site 
of Aulseopolis, the temple of which no longer exists, 
and soon after we again moored to the bank, in the 
hope of another breeze to carry us on. 

At night I woke up my companions and the 



S0NDYEH. 



37 



boat's crew, fancying there was a thief on board. 
N — had well nigh fired upon me as I was on the 
point of knocking him down, each mistaking the 
other for the intruder. The commotion caused by 
this freak of mine had not long subsided when a real 
thief made his appearance, and had it not been for 
my previous alarm would probably have succeeded in 
emptying our fowl-coup. As it was, he was soon 
discovered by one of the crew, who darted into the 
water after him ; but he swam off and made his 
escape. 

The calm continued so long, that we made but 
little progress : the river was as smooth as glass and 
the heat most intense, and the flies settled upon us 
in such myriads, that they became an intolerable 
nuisance. At Sondyeh, so great is the richness and 
variety of the crops, that you look upon a perfect 
garden, and the mountains trend away from the river 
but soon join it again. In going on shore at Eknim, 
to buy slippers, the town appeared quite deserted, 
and we heard that the inhabitants had been taken 
by the Pasha to construct a bridge in the vicinity. 
On our return we found that Lord E — 's crew had 
had a serious encounter from some trifling cause with 
some boatmen of the Pasha's, which might have ended 
much worse than it did. A few broken heads, how- 
ever, were the only result. We tracked on the east 
side of the river under the finest range of mountains 
we had yet seen, rising nearly perpendicularly, yet 
showing signs, by a white ridge which they exhibited, 
of their having been mounted by the wandering 
Arabs. We arrived at length opposite a fine fore- 



38 



DJIZNEH. 



land, on which is a Coptic convent, where these 
Christians collect for mutual protection. We stopped 
to visit it, and, after passing through a gateway, 
around which many half-dressed persons were con- 
gregated, entered the quadrangle. This resembles 
a dirty farmyard more than a human habitation — 
goats, sheep, and other animals roaming about in 
the interior. Through a doorway which opens into 
an antechapel with low heavy rude arches, we ap- 
proached the chapel, which is dedicated to St. George. 
This is of a very rude construction, possessing a mise- 
rable altar of brick and mortar, over which there 
is a more than usually unsightly picture of the Vir- 
gin and Child, and another representing the exploits 
of the patron saint. They showed us their books, 
Coptic and Arabic, which, they told us, their priest 
only, who was then absent, was able to read. 

We proceeded tediously up the river and anchored 
at Djizneh, in order to purchase a few things we had 
need of. It was with great difficulty that we per- 
suaded our rai's to start again, as, under the excuse 
of making bread, he would fain have persuaded us to 
remain here two days ; but we were too anxious to 
avail ourselves of a fair wind, which sprang up, to 
allow this. The fine line of mountains which had 
bounded the Nile on the eastern side terminates a 
little below Djizneh ; and, though at times we had 
wished them much further when they screened our 
sails from a favourable wind, yet we could not help 
missing their rugged peaks which had been constantly 
in view, or their precipitous sides, crossed as they 
had been, here and there, with many a mountain 



BELLIEVE. 



39 



track, or excavated into tombs or caverns. An 
awkward accident nearly happened to our rai's whilst 
our boat was moored at Djizneh. The mizen-mast 
of Lord E — 's boat broke and fell with a man upon it 
on the head of our rai's who had anchored just below. 
Dr. M — soon ascertained that he had sustained no 
serious injury, and after a short time he revived from 
the effects of the shock the blow had given him. 

At Bellieve we stopped for the usual necessaries ; 
and, progressing as well as the wind would allow us, 
the fabrique at Mennal became visible among the 
palms. We anchored in the port for a short time. 
Denderah, which we saw upon the opposite bank of 
the river, we reserved for our return; and, having 
limited our dilatory rai's to one hour, as the wind 
was now in our favour, we left the place and flew 
along at a most rapid pace until we were compelled 
to moor for the night. A full moon enticed us 
among the palms of the neighbouring village, and 
at sunrise we got out again in the fall hope of being 
able to reach Thebes in the afternoon. We had 
reckoned, however, without our host ; for, on turning 
a reach in the river, we found that the wind was 
against us, and were obliged for many hours to have 
recourse to the towing line. Being very tired," I had 
fallen asleep, and on awaking found that the rest of 
the party had gone on shore. Anxious to see some- 
thing myself, I got out of the boat and walked 
to Grornou, where I just took a peep at the cata- 
combs. The boat was on the wrong side for moor- 
ing ; I consequently got into it again, and soon found 
myself at Luxor, where the rest had arrived on foot. 



40 



THEBES. 



Before me lay the ruins of Thebes — a city which 
flourished before history begins, and when nearly the 
whole world was sunk in ignorance and barbarism, 
and yet, whose wonderful remains have astonished 
the travellers of every age and country. I went on 
shore by the light of the moon, which was shining 
brightly, and soon reached the entrance to a temple, 
consisting of a wall fifty or sixty feet high, construct- 
ed of huge stones, with two large sitting figures like 
sentinels, in the front of one of which is an obelisk, 
the other having been taken away to adorn the Place 
de la Concorde, at Paris. On the south of this en- 
trance is a portico, or corridor, with two rows of 
seven pillars surmounted by stones of an immense 
size, to form the entablature. These pillars, having 
their capitals circular, resemble very much the Doric 
columns at Psestum. The upper portion of them is 
about a third larger than the rest ; but the sand 
has so covered the site that the proportions are quite 
lost. On the south side among hovels and huts stand 
two other rows, each of two pillars, which probably 
formed part of a gallery running round the quadran- 
gle of the temple. These, in point of form, are more 
decidedly Egyptian than the others, having the lotus- 
formed capital with its fluted leaves. 

We left Thebes with the intention of staying a 
week on our return ; and, the wind favouring us, 
made some little progress ; but, at sunset, it failed 
again, and we were then moored to the bank, under 
a lofty headland. S — and I walked to the top of 
it, and looked down upon the Nile, with the little 
English fleet of four or five boats bearing the na- 



ESNEH. 



41 



tioual colours flying, as they advanced on their upward 
course. A glorious full moon lighted up the barren 
range of hills which skirted the narrow belt of land 
at our feet. With our sails again unfurled, we ar- 
rived at Esneh ; and, after looking after our bread, 
as we heard that we could get none further up the 
river, and making a few other purchases, we went 
to see the remains of the ancient temple. They are 
(proh pudor /) buried beneath Arab huts and heaps 
of dirt and rubbish. The floor of the temple is con- 
siderably beneath the accumulation of soil, which 
has. risen nearly up to the capitals of the pillars. 
All that remains of the building consists of six rows 
of columns, which support a roof, and are surrounded 
by a wall, terminated by a plain moulding, or string- 
course, and a circularly projecting cornice. The 
pillars, I should think, are from forty to fifty feet 
high, and about five feet in diameter, two thirds 
of their height from the ground ; they are banded 
by horizontal lines : these are succeeded by perpen- 
dicular grooves, and then begins the capital, con- 
sisting of palm, vine, and other leaves — the inter- 
stices being often filled with something like the 
billet moulding of Norman Architecture ; in several 
cases this constitutes the chief ornament. The ca- 
pital, in some of the pillars, terminates in a circular 
mushroom-shaped head, whilst in others, it is scal- 
loped and divided into leaves of a trefoil form ; in 
one I observed the projections found on a Corinthian 
pillar, and also the volute supporting them, as well 
as in other places, on the capital. On the pillars 
are large beams, which support the roof, and the 



42 



ESNEH. 



walls, ceiling, and pillars are wholly covered with 
hieroglyphics and figures of a most grotesque form. 

We walked to the temple in the evening, in order 
to see it by the light of the moon, and were sur- 
prised that her bright beams did not penetrate it ; 
it appeared to us that the huts in the neighbourhood 
tended much to obscure it : but, on our return to 
the village, we found that an eclipse of the moon 
had taken place, and the villagers were marching 
about with drums to celebrate the event. Esneh, 
like all the other towns in Upper Egypt, is nearly 
destitute of inhabitants. A traveller who sees only 
Alexandria and Cairo, flourishing under the fostering 
care of the Pasha, will form a very different idea 
of his government to one who visits this portion 
of his dominions, and sees how his wars and stu- 
pendous undertakings have depopulated large tracts 
of his country and emptied his towns. Here, as at 
Eknim, the inhabitants had been marched off to 
construct a bridge, and the whole line of bazaars 
was shut up. 

We visited a Coptic church, a rude building, di- 
vided by a partition, which allots the spaces for 
men and women. Numerous little rooms open from 
it, in which are the altars, and paintings of the 
Virgin and Child and sundry saints are suspended 
on the walls. They exhibited to us here several 
moth-eaten Coptic and Arabic Testaments, but seemed 
but poor professors of Christianity. Afterwards we 
walked to the factory, where are many hand-looms 
for the manufacture of cotton cloth, set in motion 
by eight oxen. We got our bread on board our 



KOUM OMBOS. 



43 



boat during the evening. A gale blowing from 
the north and continuing all night, we made consi- 
derable progress, and, in the morning, we discovered 
that we were not far below Edfou, whose fine temple 
was just in sight. 

The wind continuing favourable, however, we deter- 
mined to postpone our visit to it till our descent of 
the river, and we made considerable way through 
a country by no means interesting, nothing being 
visible but a few palm-groves on the level banks. 
Before arriving at Esneh, we had quarrelled with 
our rais, on account of his misconduct and imper- 
tinence, a common ground of complaint with tra- 
vellers, who, as Franks, are imposed upon most sadly. 
We here made up our difference, and promised him 
a sheep for having made our bread very quickly. 
He soon put us into good humour, by telling us that 
some of our friends, who had got the start of us by 
two days, owing to our detention for the purpose 
of bread-making, were only a very short distance 
a-head of us, having become becalmed. We con- 
sidered ourselves extremely fortunate in having made 
our necessary stoppages during calm or contrary wea- 
ther ; but were not at all inclined to stop when there 
was no occasion, as our rais wished, and, in spite of 
his alarm respecting rocks, which he declared would 
expose us to great danger, we made him proceed, 
and found nothing to cause us to repent of the step 
we had taken. We passed, on the eastern bank, 
the ruined portico of Koum Ombos, but did not 
land ; and, on going on deck in the morning, I had 
a sight of the remains of ancient Syene on the eastern, 



44 



AN ADVENTUEE. 



and the tomb of the sheikh, with the convent un- 
derneath, on the western bank of the river. 

A pretty scene here occurred. Part of our crew 
consisted of two Nubian boys, who had come from 
the last village before reaching Syene. As we ap- 
proached the Isle of Elephantine, near a small knot 
of palm-trees, which denote human habitations in 
these parts, I observed our boatmen putting into 
shore, and, when the boat came into shallow water, 
the lads were over the side in a minute, wading to- 
wards the shore. I do not know whether they were 
expected or not, but intelligence of their arrival 
seemed soon to have reached the village, for down 
came tripping to the waters edge a bevy of sable 
maidens to welcome them, and long and affectionate 
were the salutations. I was told they were their 
cousins and sisters. The young ladies wore neck- 
laces and bracelets, and, I thought, were not without 
some pretensions to beauty ; but some allowance must 
be made if I was wrong, for I had seen no nearer 
approach to a Venus than an amiable looking sphinx 
for some time. One of the lads never again rejoined 
us ; the elder met us the next day above the Ca- 
taracts, and acted as our interpreter. But we were 
approaching the native element of Pyramids, and 
Obelisks, and Temples, the raw materials of all the 
work of all the Pharoahs, for the dark red granite 
cliffs were just visible, and we could see some boats 
moored in the harbour of Syene. 

At a distance, we saw a tent pitched on the shore, 
and, on landing, found out the cause. Lord — 's 
boat had, during the night, run on a sandbank, and 



AN ACCIDENT. ARRANGEMENTS. 45 

the rais attempting to get it off with the sails set, 
a sudden gust had filled them and tipped the boat 
over. Lord C — , who was in the cabin, escaped 
with difficulty, cutting his hand and arm severely, 
while the whole contents of his boat had been con- 
signed to a watery grave ; and what they had con- 
trived to rescue was now drying in the sun, not, of 
course, that the loss could be repaired. We con- 
gratulated ourselves that, since the Nile is wont to 
play these pranks, we had fared no worse than we 
had. We had, at length, gone from Migdol to 
Syene, the Dan to Beersheba of Egypt, and were 
on the confines of Ethiopia, a country from which the 
two greatest poets make the beautiful Memnon, son 
of the morning, to have proceeded, and which histo- 
rians of later date have loved to people with monsters 
and strange stories. 

We, however, had to do with realities, for our first 
aim was to lose no time in making our bargain with 
the rais of the Cataracts, the hoary monopolizer of 
the profits of dragging Franks into the land of Cush, 
for monopolies have even extended eight hundred 
miles up the Nile. We were lucky enough to find 
him soon, for he was, at that moment, making ar- 
rangements, like the gods in Homer, for performing 
his periodical visit into Ethiopia. It was the work 
of a minute to commence the conference ; not so to 
terminate it. Our friend, the rais, had discovered 
(alas ! who does not do the same ?) that the English 
will pay anything, rather than be deprived of seeing 
what they have made up their minds to visit, and 
asked the great sum of two hundred and seventy- 



46 



ASSOUAN. 



five piasters (three pounds of our money) for taking 
us up the Cataracts, though, on the previous year, 
he thought himself well paid with one hundred 
and fifty. Finding he was resolute in his demand, 
and having ascertained that he had received the same 
sum from others, as we had no time to lose, in Ho- 
meric language, " the assembly was dismissed," with 
a promise that the rafs and his men would be at our 
command early the next morning. We were soon 
making our way over the great heights of rubbish 
which now cover more than half of the more flourish- 
ing town of Assouan, and, on our way to the quarries, 
two or three obelisks attracted our attention, in dif- 
ferent states of developement, and one which we 
noticed was broken, but so situated as not to be 
capable of removal but by ropes from above. What 
a mountain has been here cut away by man's con- 
stant efforts ! and how are all the Rameseses and 
Osirtesens indebted to their notoriety as they were 
more or less prodigal of their labours in these quar- 
ries. While you wander over the vast space now 
excavated, and look at the marks of the chisels by 
which the huge masses were at length loosened, you 
feel you would give much for the meanest artificer 
just . to appear and tell you a little about the history 
of the half-finished obelisk at your feet. But all is 
changed from the times when the Nile bore down 
the huge personifications of Egypt's grandeur, to 
adorn some newly founded city, or commemorate 
some fortunate exploit. Assouan is now almost a 
solitude, its large area is half covered with miserable 
Arab huts, and a cargo of slaves, crowded together 



ASCENT OF THE CATARACTS. 



47 



in the filthy hovels, are almost the only visitants. 
I returned through a vast necropolis to the Isle of 
Elephantine. This, in the palmy days of Egypt's 
grandeur, was a series of temples, now a mass of 
unintelligible ruins, a fragment of a propylon and an 
inferior statue being all that you can distinguish. 
In many parts of the quarries half finished sarcophagi 
are also found, and, towards the north end, the Isle 
is prettily cultivated and deliciously green. On the 
height are the ruins of the ancient Syene, exactly 
under the tropic of Cancer. 

We had long discovered that an Arab is not made 
of the most punctual materials, and though we were 
all ready an hour after sunrise, it was near ten o'clock 
before our Coryphaeus sent us word, that he would 
meet us at the rapids. As sundry mal-a-propos im- 
mersions often take place of the contents of boats 
during their ascent, all our goods had been packed up 
and sent by land, to meet us at the rendezvous at the 
other side. All my friends had, likewise, preferred 
riding, so that I was left alone to enjoy the ascent, 
which, in spite of the heat, I did excessively. The 
wind favouring us, we soon started, and as we ad- 
vanced, the scenery soon assumed a more decidedly 
bold and rugged character, the dark masses of granite 
rising out of the stream, and, on either side, the per- 
pendicular crags, powdered with the sand of the 
desert, looked dark and frightful. Nature, with her 
grotesque architecture, seemed to be aiming to heap 
together in the strangest confusion, pinnacles, and 
domes, and battlements, one upon another, as if to 
ridicule man's puny efforts by her vast constructions 



48 



ASCENT OF THE CATARACTS. 



and unequalled grandeur. As we approached the 
bottom of the first rapid, father Nile, who had as yet 
been wending his way most soberly and majestically 
to the " river ocean," seemed all of a sudden smitten 
with a desire to frolic, and was bubbling and tumbling 
about in all the elasticity of youth ; and darting his 
spray, not indeed with all the energy which the poet 
Lucan describes in his beautiful, but certainly exagge- 
rated description,* but sufficiently to give some in- 
terest and difficulty to the ascent of the cataracts. 
We stopt at the bottom of the first rapid, where a 
long delay took place, the rais not having as yet 
arrived. My patience was nearly exhausted by an 
hour's gaze on the wild and savage scene before me ; 
when, at length, a large boat was seen above the 
rapids. It passed them in a moment, like a shooting 
star, and proved to contain the rais and his myrmi- 
dons. 

We " salaamed " each other, and interchanged a 
few Eastern civilities, while the crew were employed 
in attaching a strong cable to the bow, and two 
smaller ropes to the sides of the boat. This being 
done, the rais seated himself, with a vast air of im- 
portance, on the bow of our boat, and gave the word 
of command; at which, about fifty half-naked figures 
took the towing line in their hands, others with poles 
prevented any collision against the rocks ; and amidst 
loud cries of " Haylee Sa," and a variety of discor- 
dant yells, the first rapid was passed. We then 
sailed for some distance surrounded by these sons of 
the Nile, whom it was astonishing to see, as they 
* Pharsalia, Lib. 10. 320. 



ASCENT OF THE CATARACTS. 



49 



struggled against the stream in its swiftest part ; now 
and then, astride on a log of wood, with their hands 
acting as a rudder, gliding about at a rapid pace, or 
trusting themselves without any assistance to the 
mercy of the dashing current. The total absence of 
vegetation, save a solitary pine, the naked figures 
flitting in all directions in and out of the water, and 
sending forth their loud and guttural yells, formed a 
scene wild and exciting, even to one whose eye was 
rather unaccustomed to civilized life. 

We, at length, arrived at a second rapid : one of 
our. dusky friends seized the cable in his teeth, and 
with it darted off some thirty yards to a dark mass 
of granite, round which he securely wound it. The 
rest gave a succession of pulls, and we had left behind 
us the second rapid. The third was passed much in 
the same way, giving us some little trouble, and this 
in consequence of the violence of the stream, and the 
different directions in which the various whirlpools 
drove the boat ; for at this point the whole course of 
the Nile, in three long glassy impetuous floods, was 
majestically gliding over the ledges of granite which 
interrupted its flow. The cries and pulls, however, 
of the men were not thrown away. After half an 
hour's hard work all the cataracts were passed ; and, 
let me add, though I do not wish to detract from the 
exceedingly grand and savage scenery when you are 
hemmed in on both sides by the dark red granite, and 
though I think, if you are not very careful and very 
alert, your boat may go over, yet I may say, I see no 
great exploit in ascending the cataracts, which, as far 
as they are themselves concerned, are but ordinary 

D 



50 ASCENT OF THE CATARACTS. 

rapids. Luean, when he tells you of their sending 
their foam up to the skies, Niagara-like, may have 
used a poet's licence, and to its full extent ; but 
Cicero has no such excuse to entertain you with an 
account of the cataracts, which he calls " catadupes," 
as Herodotus koltuIqv'kq^ and which, he says, fell from 
such a height as to deprive of hearing those who 
dwelt in the neighbourhood. 

Having passed the last rapid, a few minutes brought 
us in sight of palms and huts and other signs of man's 
habitation, among which we could distinguish our 
own party waiting the arrival of the boat, while in 
the distance I caught a glimpse of the beautiful Philse, 
with its majestic pile of temples, like some old frown- 
ing castle or massive feudal fortress, as it seemed to 
command the avenues of the river. The pleasure of 
visiting this elegant spot, the most sacred isle of the 
Egyptian deities, Isis, Osiris, and Horus, I reserved 
for my descent, and sailed on under the dark granite 
piles, which, for a long way above the cataracts, 
enclose the river, not inaptly expressed by our own 
poet, 

"The Ethiop's line 
By Nilus' head enclosed with shining rock, 
A whole day's journey high."* 

We passed through this long defile but slowly, and 
moored in rather an unprotected part of the river, 
but, from the character which the Nubians bear, felt 
ourselves secure. We continued our course along the 
river between strips of cultivated land, which slopk 



See Appendix, B. 



ASCENT OF THE CATARACTS. 



51 



downwards from the mountains and appeared most 
fertile, the corn (it being now but the middle of 
February) beginning already to turn yellow. The 
precipitous granite rocks now disappeared, and sand- 
stone took its place ; the heights, though sloping, 
being much narrower. At sunset we were, as usual, 
becalmed, and took up our position under a sandbank 
for the night, where we were much disturbed by the 
odious croaking of numberless bull-frogs, who seemed 
to be keeping a jubilee. Besides this music, we had 
the jarring noise of water-wheels, which occur almost 
every ten yards, the buzzing of insects all around us, 
and the squeaking of myriads of rats, which, together 
with the snoring of our own sailors, formed a lullaby 
we could easily have dispensed with. 

On the stillest morning I ever recollect, by the help 
of the towing-line we left our mooring-place, which we 
afterwards learnt was near the temple of Kardassy ; but, 
as the moon had not been shining, w r e could not possi- 
bly have seen much, had we been aware of this. We 
seemed doomed to a slow onward movement, and 
therefore, finding that we were near Taphis, we took 
the opportunity of landing, in order to see the remains 
of the temple, such as they are. These consist of 
two porticoes, one of which is much injured : the 
other has an interior roofed over, and two columns in 
the walls at the entrance, w r ith a capital formed of a 
full-blown lotus ; the columns which support the roof 
possessing a plain circular base, and exhibiting a clumsy 
appearance. The depth of the building may be about 
twenty feet ; but we did not consider it enticing 
enough to warrant a further search, and we therefore 



52 



KALABSHE. 



regained our boat amidst a most broiling heat. We 
had, indeed, begun to find that we were in a climate 
even hotter than Egypt ; and I discovered that my 
only remedy against the scorching rays of the sun 
was in wearing a straw hat with a white cloth 
wrapped round it. We were glad to shelter our- 
selves once more under our awning, or in the cabin ; 
but, hearing that we were at Kalabshe, we were in- 
duced again to leave our retreat, to see the remains of 
its yet magnificent temple, which were visible from 
the boat. 

We were soon on shore, and, with two or three of 
our crew, scrambling through a narrow path con- 
structed of stones taken from some fallen building, 
we found ourselves, at length, in front of the pro- 
pylon. This is connected with the river by a pier 
of stone one hundred and seventy or one hundred and 
eighty feet long, now in ruins ; and on each side of it 
were once rows of sphinxes, but which have long 
since disappeared. At the end nearest the temple 
are the remains of some steps, which connect it with 
a platform thirty-six feet in breadth, in front of the 
propylon. The height of this gateway is about 
one hundred and ten feet, and its width eighteen or 
twenty; and, like those at Edfou, it is formed by 
two large towers joined together. Within is a court- 
yard, the picture of desolation ; capitals, shafts, and 
fragments of pillars, lying about in the greatest confu- 
sion. Around it are the remains of a colonnade, 
uniting with the portico, which consists of four columns 
engaged halfway up the wall. Passing through this 
door, you come to an apartment, also once adorned 



KALABSHE. 



53 



with a colonnade, but now completely filled with 
broken columns and blocks of stone. Two columns 
remain standing. Behind this room is the cella, 
fifteen paces by nine, projecting into the pronaos ; and 
then the adytum, with its walls pierced by several 
loop-holes : its roof is composed of single blocks of 
stone reaching the whole breadth, and more than 
three feet in thickness. Behind this, again, is another 
chamber, entered by two doors ; but its roof is lower 
than that of the adytum, there having been another 
room over it. These three apartments are covered 
with the usual hieroglyphics, symbolic figures, and the 
remains of colouring which is still fresh and bright. 
A coat of plaster, laid on by the Greeks, but which 
is now falling off, has served to preserve the original 
colours in a tolerably perfect state. The outside walls 
are covered with sculptures of colossal figures, and a 
statue of the hawk-headed Osiris is found within. 
The mole terminates in an oblong building, now in 
ruins, near the river. 

Though the area of each of the rooms into which 
I had entered was strewed with fragments of stone 
piled one upon another, and the ornamental work has 
been defaced or removed, still I was pleased with the 
ruin, as giving me a good idea of the gTOund-plan of 
an Egyptian temple. The outer walls are left nearly 
perfect, exhibiting inscriptions in Greek and Arme- 
nian ; and the winged globe still exists over the doors. 
When entire, the effect of this temple must have 
been prodigious ; but it is at present fast paying its 
tribute to old Time, where the curiosity of travellers 
or barbarians has not tended to hasten its downfall. 



54 



KALABSHE. 



Having fully investigated this temple, we walked 
over a heap of rubbish, pottery, and bones, to ano- 
ther, the front of which is hewn out of the solid rock, 
and approached by an area also excavated. The 
cella is thirteen paces by six; its roof is supported 
by massive fluted pillars; and in its walls are two 
recesses, with three statues in each. Behind this is 
the adytum, a room eight feet square, adorned with 
sculptures and hieroglyphics in a rude style. The 
walls of the open area in front of the temple are 
very curious. The sculptures portray some historical 
event. On one side a conqueror, in a car with two 
horses, is driving his enemies before him, who are 
fleeing towards a country abounding in various kinds 
of fruit-trees. Behind this car are smaller ones of 
the same form, each drawn by two horses, and hav- 
ing a female standing upright within it, and a cha- 
rioteer in front. On another part is a figure of Osiris 
seated in a procession of naked men with clubs over 
their shoulders, and a variety of wild animals well 
executed, amongst which are lions, buffaloes, came- 
leopards, gazelles, ostriches, asses, and goats ; the 
train being closed by a tall cameleopard, and its 
leader followed by two prisoners. Above are heaps of 
quivers and arrows, skins and furs of wild beasts, &c. 
On the opposite wall the king is represented seated, 
while bearded captives are brought before him with 
their hands bound. There are also female slaves in 
long robes, with high head-dresses and cloaks thrown 
over them ; and a battle, in which is depicted the 
assault and taking of a town, with figures falling 
down. All these are in bass-relief, and executed in 



KALABSHE. 



55 



spirit ; they appear to represent some event which 
history has not handed down to us. The king of 
Egypt has evidently carried his arms into a country 
abounding in animals unknown in Nubia and the 
countries adjacent ; the elephants and cameleopards 
being found only in Abyssinia and Senaar. 

After having occupied ourselves for some time 
amidst these curious memorials of events now buried 
in oblivion, we retraced our steps to the boat. The 
cultivated land had ceased from the time of our leav- 
ing Taphis, and we now looked upon nothing but 
the gigantic forms of the perpendicular granite cliffs 
which skirt the way. Here we were compelled to 
row ; but, from the intense heat of the weather and 
the force of the rapid current, we were a long time 
in arriving at a more open part of the river. After 
passing Kalabshe, our eyes were again delighted with 
the sight of a little cultivation : this, I should think, 
does not exceed fifty yards on each side of the banks 
for a considerable distance, but is so productive that 
it supplies the whole neighbourhood with food. Dur- 
ing the unhappy wars which took place between 
Mehemet Ali and the Mamlouks, it is computed 
that no less than one-third of the Nubians died of 
hunger ; and many of them, to avoid this cata- 
strophe, have settled in Egypt, so dependent are they 
upon the regular supplies from the small tracts of 
land which they cultivate. 

Continuing our course through a fine open country, 
with sandstone rocks bounding our prospect, we 
passed, on the western bank of the river, the temple 
of Dakke. As we advanced, we observed that the 



56 



EBSAMBOUL. 



barley harvest was actually commencing, and the 
corn was lying about in sheaves, although it was no 
later than the 3rd of February ! Owing to the 
meandering course of the river, the view at times 
was extremely fine ; the pyramidal hills forming a 
perfect amphitheatre round us, and rising in rugged 
and broken masses on all sides. The heat of the 
sun was terrific, and it was a tiresome job for our 
men to be pulling our boat against the rapid current, 
whilst they could with difficulty keep their footing on 
the steep and rocky banks. At Kolosko we moored, 
and fell in with a boat belonging to some gentlemen 
on their way from India. We were detained at this 
part for a considerable time, the wind either ceasing 
altogether or blowing decidedly against us. A fa- 
vourable breeze arose one morning, and we were very 
sanguine as to our reaching Ebsamboul the same 
evening. " The wish," however, " was father to the 
thought ; " for, though we were carried on at a glo- 
rious pace for a short time, the wind at last shifted 
in our teeth, and we were obliged to moor within 
three hours of it. Just before sunset our friends'' 
boat passed us, having beaten us by one day. 

On arising in the morning we found that we were 
sailing on again with a brisk north wind ; and, 
whilst at breakfast, heard that we could see the 
rocks of Ebsamboul in the distance. It was not 
long before we were under the North Temple ; and, 
having given orders for taking down our mainsail, 
as we intended to proceed no further, we commenced 
the examination of the ruins. The Southern Temple, 
which has been excavated out of the solid rock about 



EBSAMBOUL. 



57 



fifty feet above the level of the river, was the first 
that we entered. In front of the entrance are 
six colossal figures, three on either side, and two 
smaller ones ; they are supposed to be representa- 
tions of Osiris and Isis : the height from the ground 
to their knees is about six and a half feet. Between 
the figures the space is covered with hieroglyphics ; 
and, since Isis is here represented as receiving offer- 
ings from her votaries, the temple is said to have 
been dedicated to her. The front is considered to be 
a hundred and eleven feet in height. On entering 
the door, you pass to a chamber thirteen paces by 
seven, which is supported by six square pillars, three 
feet square, with Isis-headed capitals ; the hair is 
falling in ringlets, and on the head is an ornament 
resembling a building. The whole of the interior, 
including the ceiling, is adorned with hieroglyphics 
and symbolical figures. Briareis, the hawk-headed, 
ram-headed, lion-headed, and ibis-headed deities, are 
all to be seen, as well as Osiris receiving the ac- 
customed offerings. The figures are yellow, with 
black hair. Behind this pronaos is the cella, only 
three paces in depth, which is entered by three 
doors. The adytum is seven feet square, with a 
niche where are the remains of a sitting statue. 
The sculpture and hieroglyphics of both the rooms 
are in a state of good preservation, and are ap- 
parently well executed. These rooms have been 
used by the Nubians as a place of defence against 
the incursions of the Bedouins. 

A little to the south is the beau ideal of Egyptian 
architecture, facing nearly east, discovered by Bu?ck- 

D 5 



58 



EBSAMBOUL. 



hardt, and exhumed by his industry and that of 
Irby and Mangles. The exterior front of the exca- 
vation, before which are four immense colossal sta- 
tues, was found, upon measurement, to be one hun- 
dred and seventeen feet high and eighty-six feet six 
inches wide. The entrance is in the centre, sur- 
mounted by a frieze, torus, and cornice; and over 
these a figure of the hawk-headed deity, twenty feet 
high, to whom two female figures are making offer- 
ings. Below him is a small statue of Isis, and a 
terminal wolf. There is a moulding round the tem- 
ple, and a row of monkeys, twenty-two in number, 
eight feet high. 

Anywhere but in Egypt and Nubia these propor- 
tions would be colossal ; but to the East different 
rules apply. What is the antiquity of the oldest re- 
mains in Europe compared with that of the Pyramids, 
upon which Abraham and the Patriarchs may be sup- 
posed to have gazed? What comparison can the 
greatest efforts of more civilized ages bear with these 
stupendous labours of Mizraim in the world's infancy ? 
I own that, barbarians as they were who formed them, 
there is an indistinctness of builder, of age, and of 
purpose connected with these temples, which, inde- 
pendently of other considerations, gave me a feeling 
of wonder and awe, to which I could make no ap- 
proach among the more finished and exquisite sculp- 
ture of the Acropolis. Conceive a figure, to the top 
of whose head-dress you can hardly look without 
straining the eyes, and by whose Brobdignag dimen- 
sions you appear but an elf, as your six feet comes 
but halfway up his leg ! 



EBSAMBOUL. 



59 



But to come to detail. The four colossal figures, 
two on each side of the entrance, have been cut out of 
the solid rock, together with the chairs on which they 
are seated ; they are at a distance of eight feet from 
the temple, to which they are attached by merely a 
narrow piece of stone. One was measured, and proved 
to be seven yards across the shoulders ; and his height 
fifty-one feet from the ground, not including the head- 
dress, which is fourteen feet more : the whole figure, 
therefore, if standing, would be nearly seventy feet 
high. One is completely destroyed, with the excep- 
tion of the legs : on the arms of all the rest are hiero- 
glyphics, and traces of stucco and red paint ; and their 
countenances are expressive, and exhibit Grecian 
features. 

Upon entering the temple, there is a hall fifty- 
seven feet by fifty-two, the roof of which is supported 
by a double row of colossal figures, thirty feet high, 
with their turbans reaching to the ceiling, producing 
an extremely fine and overpowering effect. The 
whole of these figures are representations of Osiris, 
having their arms crossed, with the scourge in one 
hand and the crosier in the other. The square pillars 
to which they are attached, four on each side, are 
five and a half feet square. Hieroglyphics and sculp- 
tures, as usual, adorn the apartment ; and on the 
wall on either side of the doorway are represented 
battles, in which the gigantic hero is destroying his 
enemies with arrows. The storming of castles ; the 
taking of prisoners ; processions of captives, some 
clothed in skins, some bare-headed, others with bushy 
hair and beards, or with caps composed of strips of 



60 



EBSAMBOUL. 



palm-leaves; and sacrifices, are here found depicted. 
The second hall is thirty-seven feet by twenty-five, 
and contains four pillars, four feet square. Behind 
this is a long narrow chamber, thirty-seven feet by 
ten ; in which is the entrance into the adytum^ a room 
twenty-three and a half feet by twelve : in the 
middle is an altar ; and at the end are four colossal 
figures seated, eight feet high. The first is a hawk- 
headed deity ; the second a beardless figure, re- 
sembling Minerva ; the third bearded, with a head- 
dress ; and the fourth bare-headed and bearded. The 
remaining rooms of the building are side-apartments, 
into which there is a communication from the main 
part ; they are furnished with benches at their sides, 
which probably answered the purpose of seats. Such 
is the description of this stupendous temple, as to the 
date of which no clear light has arisen from the time 
that it was first recovered from the overwhelming 
desert. There are no marks of violence upon it, and 
time and damp seem to have committed the only 
injuries which it has hitherto suffered. If the hero, 
who cuts so great a figure upon the walls, be the same 
with that represented in the sculptures at Thebes, it 
cannot be of later date than that temple. As the name 
of Rameses the Second occurs repeatedly, the most 
probable supposition is, that at Ebsamboul was one of 
the ancient rock-temples, which was afterwards en- 
larged and adorned by the victorious Sesostris in com- 
memoration of his victorious arms. 



61 



CHAPTER III. 

Ibrim. — Dehr. — Kolosko. — Dakke. — Philse. — Descent of the 
Cataracts. — Koum Ombos.— Edfou. — Medinet Abou. — Thebes. 

Having now arrived at the limit of our voyage up 
the Nile,'* we turned our boat and prepared to descend 
the stream, which had borne us so many miles towards 
its source. It being the custom to ply the oar on the 
downward course, the main-sail was taken down, the 
towing-line dispensed with, and the seats for rowers 
were arranged ; and having fully satisfied our curiosity, 
and left memorials of our visit in the sandstone, we 
entered the boat, with her head turned down the 
stream. Here, with a sheep which we had bought, a 
bottle of wine, some coffee, and our pipes, we passed 
a pleasant evening, not forgetful of our friends in Eng- 
land. The north wind, to which we had been so often 
indebted, was now directly in our faces, and consider- 
ably hindered our progress ; and our crew were too 
ready to avail themselves of any excuse for declining 
to proceed. We insisted, however, on their exerting 
themselves, and at last gained our point. We passed 
Lord C — on his upward journey, and at sunset 
found ourselves under the lofty heights of Ibrim. 

* Ebsamboul is in lat. 22° 20' 11% and N. long. 31° 40' 57". 



62 



KOLOSKO. 



This commanding site, on which was built a town 
by the Bosnian soldiers of Sultan Selim, is now 
deserted. Its ruins, which seemed extensive, we did 
not visit, nor the grottoes which we saw excavated 
in the rock. Rowing steadily along, we reached 
Dehr, about three hours after sunset, where our crew 
determined to rest for the night ; stating that there 
was a sandbank in advance of us, which it would 
be impossible to pass in the dark without danger. 
In the morning we visited the temple, after having 
followed our guide thither through a long grove of 
palm-trees interspersed with low huts. It is situate 
on the side of the desert, from which it is excavated, 
with the exception of the portico, a triple row of 
four columns, built with the wall before it ; all these, 
except the last row, are in ruins. On entering the 
temple, there is an apartment, the roof of which is 
supported by two rows of three columns, very coarsely 
sculptured and covered with hieroglyphics. Behind 
this is a smaller apartment, with a niche at the fur- 
ther end for four figures. The cetta is thirteen paces 
square, and on each side of the adytum, is a small 
chamber having a communication with it, over which 
is the winged globe. This temple is certainly very 
ancient, and was probably erected in the infancy 
of art, and before those at Karnac and Gornou. 

By the help of our oars and sail we reached Ko- 
losko in much less time than we had accomplished 
the same distance on ascending the Nile, the course 
of the river here being due north and south. I 
landed with Abraham to buy fowls, and procured 
from ajelap three capital curbashes and some ostrich 



DAKKE. 



63 



eggs. Below Kolosko there is little cultivation on 
the river-side, and the mountains, rising precipitously 
with grotesque forms, approach close to the bank. 
Having arrived at Sabooa, I started off for the 
temple, which is so completely buried in sand that 
little of it is visible. One or two sphinxes are 
still protruding their noses from amidst accumu- 
lations around them, but they are becoming every 
day more and more covered by the encroaching sand. 
The temple is half excavated in the rock, and, from 
the rudeness of the construction, is evidently of a 
very early date. 

The wind blowing very strongly from the north- 
west, we were driven any way but the right, and 
during the whole of this day did not make anything 
like ten miles an hour. At nightfall the wind fell, 
and we then insisted on our men setting to work, 
which they did in good earnest throughout the night, 
and, on waking in the morning, we found ourselves 
at Dakke. We went on shore to view the temple, 
which is seen from a great distance, and is in a tole- 
rable state of preservation. It is entered through 
a propylon^ which is ninety feet across, fifty feet 
in height, and, at the base, eighteen feet in depth ; 
a gate being in the centre, with a cornice and torus. 
On the outer wall are no hieroglyphics ; but the wall 
within, and the sides, are covered with sculptures, 
and contain many Greek and Egyptian inscriptions. 
The court between the propylon and pronaos is 
forty-eight feet in length ; and you enter between 
two pillars, halfway in the walls, with capitals as 
at Philse. The pronaos is ten paces by seven, and 



64 



DAKKE. 



its roof is made of huge blocks of stone, fifteen feet 
in length. Behind this is an apartment only four 
paces in breadth, which communicates, by means 
of another door richly ornamented, with the adytvm, 
a chamber six paces square. Behind the adytum 
is another room, in which there is a door which 
leads into the space enclosed between the temple 
and a thick stone wall running round it, of which 
only the foundations remain ; the hieroglyphics here 
are beautifully executed. Many inscriptions about 
the propylon prove that this temple was dedicated 
to Hermes ; one being of the tenth year of Tiberius, 
and another of the twentieth of Hadrian. In later 
times, the Greek Christians turned this temple into 
a place of worship, and the Virgin and saints are 
strangely blended with hawk-headed deities and hiero- 
glyphics. The building is of sandstone. 

The wind beginning to blow almost a hurricane, 
and all further progress being out of the question, 
we determined to rest here, under the shore, until 
the force of the wind should abate ; it, however, con- 
tinued nearly the whole day, and it was not till four 
p.m. that we got away from Dakke, being frequently 
obliged to moor again on account of the violence of the 
wind. As our men had rested all the day, we in- 
tended that they should work during the night ; 
but to this they objected, and it was only after a 
long and angry debate that we succeeded in getting 
them under our command. We, however, made 
scarcely any progress, and invited our friend Mr. 
S — to join our party and smoke his pipe. He 
was kept a prisoner on board our boat, his own not 



GYRSHE. 



65 



being forthcoming when he wanted it ; we, at last, 
had tidings of its having gone to a temple at some 
distance, and it was not till long after midnight that 
she made her appearance. We soon became tired 
of drifting down at the rate of a mile an hour. I 
went on shore with Abraham to buy some eggs, 
and walked through a line of huts three miles in 
extent, which constitutes the village of Gyrshe. The 
villagers came flocking around us, (at least, the male 
portion of them,) and formed a retinue after us, with 
spears and ornaments of different kinds for sale ; 
whilst the females, running away, half hiding their 
faces, and then peeping out from behind their doors, 
brought Galatea forcibly to one's mind. After a long 
bargaining, with half the village at our heels, I 
bought a scent-bottle and a good spear ; and, on get- 
ting near the boat, I purchased a Nubian giiTs dress, 
which I afterwards nearly spoilt in attempting to 
clean it. It is really quite surprising how these 
people contrive to support existence on the narrow 
slips of land they are enabled to cultivate ; each 
wheel paying three hundred piasters, and each date- 
tree one piaster. Their whole subsistence consists 
in the produce raised from these two sources. They 
seem quiet, well-disposed, and honest, — their coun- 
tenances are better than those of the Arabs and 
somewhat darker ; and they have all spears, and 
knives, and small shields of buffalo-skin. 

I soon overtook my boat, which made but little 
way against the strong wind. At night our rais 
again displeased us, for, about sunset, having arrived 
at the narrow pass called the Door of Kalabshe, he 



66 



DOOR OF KALABSHE. 



insisted on mooring under the bank, and remaining 
there till the wind was lower ; being afraid, as he 
said, of the rocks. Nothing we could urge had the 
effect of inducing him to move ; and, accordingly, we 
passed the night under a rocky eminence covered 
by the sand of the desert. We had been for a long 
time discontented with our rai's, who, whenever he 
was desirous of stopping, boldly asserted that there 
was a gebel, or a hadjar, or some other formidable 
object, a-head of us ; but the threat of bastinado, 
which we freely used on these occasions, did but 
make the old fellow sulky and out of humour. We 
therefore resigned ourselves to our fate ; but, before 
daybreak, our ears were saluted by the pleasing 
sound of our sailors'' oars, and by nine, p.m., we 
had passed through the narrow gorge which sepa- 
rates Kalabshe from Taphis. Here we found the 
wind as bad as ever ; in fact, we were exposed to 
a perfect hurricane, and going on was out of the 
question. 

The whole village soon collected around us, bring- 
ing with them spears, knives, beads, coins, &c, in 
order that we might become the purchasers of them. 
At about two, p.m., fancying that the wind was a 
little lulled, we ventured to unmoor ; our progress 
was, however, next to nothing, and for the next 
three hours we could distinguish the same long 
reach, with the Door of Kalabshe at the end of it. 
All night, like Milton's angel, we held our way, our 
crew behaving better than was their usual habit, and, 
long after we were in our beds, gladdening our hearts 
by the sound of their oars upon the water. On 



PHIL^E. 



67 



awaking in the morning we discovered that we were 
among rocks of granite, and within sight of the tem- 
ple at Philae. We soon moored in our old position 
above the second cataract, and directly despatched 
a messenger for the important rai's, without whom 
nothing can be done, intending to devote the morn- 
ing to the ruins. We made the best of our way to 
the temple, where we learnt that the rais would 
soon arrive with another boat, and would be at our 
service. 

The island of Philse is one thousand feet long, and 
four thousand broad in its widest part ; and in its most 
southern point it is protected against the force of the 
river by a wall built of huge blocks of stone, which 
is carried round the island, but not with such a 
strong defence as at this part. The soil is to a very 
slight depth, and the granite rock often peeps through 
it. 

It was the most sacred spot of Egypt, where the 
priests only were allowed to land, where Osiris was 
particularly worshipped, and where they suppose him 
to have been buried. His mysterious history is cu- 
riously illustrated in the sculptures of a retired cham- 
ber lying nearly over the western adytum of the 
temple. His death and removal are there describ- 
ed ; the number of twenty-eight lotus plants points 
out the period of years he was thought to have lived 
on earth ; and his passage from this life to a future 
state is indicated by the usual attendance of the 
deities and genii who presided over the funeral rites 
of ordinary mortals. He is there represented with 
the feathered cap which he wore in his capacity of 



68 



PHIL2E. 



judge of Amenti ; and this attribute shows the final 
office he held after his resurrection, and continued to 
exercise towards the dead at their last ordeal in a 
future state. In the same part of the building I 
Was much interested in the whole operation of em- 
bowelling, embalming, swathing, and preparing a mum- 
my, represented in a sculpture ; while the couch on 
which the body reposed, differed little in fashion from 
many I have seen in modern drawing-rooms, termi- 
nating, as its sides did, in a lion^s head. 

The whole island exhibits at present a succes- 
sion of ruins of different ages ; and the temple, its 
greatest attraction, is at the south-west corner of it, 
commencing from its extreme end. It is approach- 
ed through a long narrow court, at the entrance of 
which are the foundations of another temple. From 
this spot a colonnade, in continuation of six columns 
of this temple which are still standing, originally ex- 
tended for two hundred and forty feet along the 
edge of the river to the grand propylon : of this 
colonnade, thirty-two columns still remain. Near the 
six columns of the ancient temple is a small granite 
obelisk covered with hieroglyphics and Greek in- 
scriptions, one of which relates that Ptolemy had 
made offerings to Isis and other deities of this tem- 
ple. A wall, roofed with large flat stones, appears to 
have accompanied the colonnade ; and in it are eight 
windows, and a staircase leading to the river. This 
may have been used for shops, as we see in our own 
day in Gothic edifices, where shops are constantly 
obtruding themselves upon our notice from amidst 
the sacred precincts of the buildings. On the opposite 



PHIL.E. 



69 



side is another piazza, of which fourteen columns 
still stand ; but it is not so extensive nor so fine as 
that which we have already noticed, and is occupied 
by chambers. At the entrance of the propylon 
are the pedestals of two granite obelisks which have 
been removed, and the remains of two sphinxes much 
injured. The propylon is about ninety feet long, and 
rises in two massive towers in the form of an imper- 
fect cone, as at Edfou. Several colossal figures 
are described upon it in intaglio, as well as many 
sculptures and hieroglyphics : Isis, twenty feet high, 
with the moon over her head; the hawk-headed 
deity ; a hero crowned ; the serpent, and winged 
globe, are among the figures represented. In certain 
places the plaster is yet seen with which these figures 
were covered when the building was used as a Chris- 
tian temple by the Greeks. Near at hand are seve- 
ral tablets, which relate, in Greek and Latin, that 
the persons named in them came to the temple to 
worship the great goddess, Isis. 

Within the propylon is the dromos, a court seven- 
ty-two feet by sixty-four, on the western side of 
which is a building, like a small temple, divided 
into chambers and surrounded by a portico ; it 
is called Bait-el-Houssan : and opposite the wall 
are the ruins of a dilapidated building which is 
named Bad- el- Suit on. At the north end of the 
dromos is a small propylon ; passing through which, 
you enter the pronaos. This is very magnificent, 
and contains ten massive pillars with varied capitals 
of palm-branches and lotus-leaves, which are ranged 
around the three sides. The figures sculptured on 



70 



PHILJ3. 



these columns are painted in the most vivid colours ; 
and the ceiling, which is of a bright azure, is decorated 
with stars, and the usual religious emblems and 
devices. Behind this is the naos, or temple itself, 
consisting of eleven small rooms on the ground-floor, 
filled with sculptures and hieroglyphics ; and on the 
right is to be seen a tablet which records the names 
of the French savants who had explored so far, 
when accompanying the French army. These cham- 
bers are very close, and nearly choked up with sand 
and the excrement of bats : in one of them are two 
monolithic niches, which have been wrought with 
great care, and are adorned with a cornice moulding 
and winged globes. This portion of the temple is 
supposed from its style to be by far its most ancient 
part, and to have had connection with an idolatry 
of greater antiquity than the temple itself. In 
the sekos is the representation of the hawk, which 
was probably the object of worship before the intro- 
duction of Isis, Osiris, and Horus as the deities of 
the Egyptians. The hawk-headed deity generally 
appears in company with Isis. 

Hadrian, who repaired the temple at Kalabshe, was 
probably the builder of the more modern parts of this 
edifice. Of the superb structure, though half filled 
with rubbish, and designedly mutilated by the savage 
hordes into whose possession it has fallen, much yet 
remains. We had as yet seen nothing at all com- 
parable to it, either as regards extent or elegance ; 
and, having roamed for some time through its de- 
serted chambers and corridors, we felt loath to leave 
so lovely a spot. 



DESCENT OF THE CATARACTS. 



71 



We had just ascended by means of a stone stair- 
case to the top of the propylon, in order to get a 
view of the whole extent of the temples, when our 
dragoman arrived to inform us that he had seen 
the old rais, who was engaged in bringing a boat of 
the Pasha's up the cataracts, and that he would be 
ready for us shortly. We hastened immediately 
under a scorching sun to our boat to await his arrival ; 
but, after having remained there an hour without 
hearing anything of him, we began to grow impatient, 
thinking that he intended to put us off till the mor- 
row, (for no Arab seems to think time of the least 
value,) and again sent away our dragoman in quest 
of him. On his return after the lapse of another 
hour with the rais, we found that an accident, which 
had happened to one of his men, had been the cause 
of the delay. As, in ascending the cataracts, it ap- 
peared to us that there was no necessity for re- 
moving all our things, we determined on this occa- 
sion to take out of the boat our crockery only, and 
to send them on with Hassan our cook by land, 
whilst the rest of our chattels should accompany 
ourselves on the water. The rais now came on 
board, and, together with his right-hand man, seated 
himself close by us with the usual salutations. 
He gave the word of command, and immediately a 
dozen naked Nubians stepped into the boat, and 
seated themselves at the oars ; when, having pushed 
us off, we approached the cataracts at a rapid rate. 
No despot could have his commands more speedily 
attended to than our rais whilst directing our move- 
ments, as he stood upon the prow of our boat. It 



72 



DESCENT OF THE CATARACTS. 



required, indeed, no little skill to pilot us among 
the granite rocks, as, from the low state of the Nile, 
the fall was more than usual ; and if we had come in 
contact with the granite rocks, which project into the 
river, we must have suffered severely. As it was, we 
shot down the first two rapids impetuously, though 
safely, notwithstanding the narrowness of the channel 
in many places. The last rapid alone required any 
length of time; our men being afraid to proceed without 
ropes, which they made fast to a rock, and so lower- 
ed us down by degrees as they passed them through 
their hands. Having descended the last rapid, we 
paid the rais, who, having taken a glass of our brandy 
with his men, took leave of us ; and, long after we 
had pushed off, we could see them all, as they 
watched our downward movement from the ledge of 
rocks where we had left them. The rais, who had 
conducted us up and down the cataracts, was a fine 
old man with a white beard, but skilful enough in 
fleecing travellers in Egypt, as we had experienced. 
The descent of the rapids would be dangerous, if 
attempted by any one unacquainted with the 
river ; and at the time of the year when the Nile is 
low, particularly, the fall of water is considerable, 
and the surge beats high. The figure of our white- 
bearded pilot, his half-naked sailors, the bare granite 
rocks rising on each side in black perpendicular 
masses, the islands dividing the river into many 
streams, all bubbling around us, and our boat making 
its rapid course between rocks half covered by the 
water, made our passage down the cataracts an ad- 
venture which I shall long remember. 



KOUM OMBOS. 



73 



Having arrived at Assouan, we moored in our 
old quarters for the night. The place appeared differ- 
ent from that at which we had formerly rested, being 
now filled with Frank boats, having friends of ours 
on board. Being in want of many necessaries, we did 
not urge our men to proceed till the following morn- 
ing, when we left our moorings, in hopes of reaching 
Koum Ombos, by the close of the day. A great 
improvement had taken place in the weather ; the 
night had been very sultry, and a delicious calm 
formed a delightful contrast with the stormy winds 
which we had lately experienced. Our progress was, 
however, but slow ; and, the men pulling lazily 
in the wide reaches, where was very little current, 
the last rays of the setting sun had been visible in 
the horizon, before we came within sight of Ombos. 
Having reached it at last, and got our boat under a 
steep bank ; we contrived by the light of the moon, 
to clamber up a sand-bank ankle-deep in sand, and 
rubbish, and worked our way up the lofty hill on 
which are situated the ruins of Ombos. Our Arab 
boatmen accompanied us, armed with sticks ; but the 
cook, a great coward, would not join our party, un- 
til we consented to take a pistol with us. These 
precautions were, however, by no means necessary, 
for we saw not even a dog to molest us ; and, what- 
ever Ombos may once have been, nothing now marks 
its site, but the ruins of its huge temple, standing 
amidst deserted huts, all half buried in sand. We 
took our lantern with us, in order to do our best 
towards seeing this once stupendous edifice ; and thus 
contrived to get a sight of its columns, which much 

E 



74 



HADJATt SILSILI. 



surprised us, accustomed though we were to the 
vast proportions of Egyptian architecture. The ruins 
are of no great extent, and what remains of them are 
buried, three-fourths of their height, in sand. They 
consist of thirteen pillars yet standing, which are 
twenty feet in circumference ; and, if wholly exca- 
vated, would probably be thirty feet high. They 
are covered with the usual sculptures and hierogly- 
phics, amongst which the crocodile, which was here 
especially worshipped, repeatedly occurs, and their 
capitals are formed by palm, doum, and lotus-leaves. 
Near this temple are the remains of the temple of 
Isis, nearly buried in the sand, but still retaining 
the vivid colours with which the ceiling was covered. 
One of its stones has been measured, and was found 
to be twenty feet five inches long, six feet ten inches 
wide, and four feet nine inches thick. Having wan- 
dered about to our satisfaction, the deep sand hin- 
dering our steps, we slid down to our boat ; and, 
after having given orders for floating down to Hadjar 
Silsili, we prepared for rest. 

At daybreak, the projecting mountains of Hadjar 
Silsili, so called from the chain once said to have 
been placed across the river to impede the naviga- 
tion, were in sight. The Libyan and Arabian moun- 
tains here approach each other in a precipitous range ; 
while the river, narrowed in its breadth, flows with 
much velocity between. The excavations are im- 
mense, and whole mountains of sandstone have been 
cut away to construct the imperishable monuments 
of ancient Egypt. The rock on each side is exca- 
vated to a great extent. We first entered the quar- 



QUARRIES. 



75 



ries on the eastern side, which are approached by gal- 
leries hewn in the solid rock, the quarries themselves 
being vast circular cavities, with passages communi- 
cating from one to another. On the sandstone, which 
is of a fine quality, the marks of the tools of the 
workman are constantly visible ; and blocks are to 
be seen in various stages of forwardness. The sur- 
face of the rock, whence the masses have been re- 
moved, is beautifully smooth, and the appearance is 
as though the tools employed in cutting the stone 
had been of a very fine description. As you stand 
in these quarries, with their precipitous sides tower- 
ing above a hundred feet over your head, you cannot 
but feel surprised that a nation, so comparatively 
ignorant in many particulars of modern science, 
should have succeeded in overcoming so many diffi- 
culties in the quarrying and removing such immense 
stones. You feel the vastness of their conceptions, 
and that they were, indeed, giants in all that con- 
cerns architectural design and labour. On the 
western side, the excavations are not so large ; whilst, 
fronting the river, there is a curious gallery, supported 
by pillars of the uncut rock. 

The morning was so fine that, after my long walk, 
I could not resist gratifying my wish for a dip in 
old father Nile. I had got in, and was gradually 
entering deeper water, when the incessant cries from 
the boat of " timshak " (crocodile) made me think it 
would not be very advisable, at the expense of a leg, 
to prosecute my amphibious propensities any further. 
A little down the river, I saw a melancholy sight. 
A whole village, men, women, and children, under 

e2 



76 



EDFOU. 



the escort of three or four mounted officers and a few 
soldiers, were forced from their homes, and pressed 
into the Pasha^s service to make some canal. As 
he has no Syria or Asia Minor now to employ his 
energies, he turns his attention more than ever to- 
wards improving the resources of Egypt, or, more 
correctly speaking, towards filling his own coffers 
more speedily. None of the Pharaohs ruled Egypt 
with a more iron hand than does Mehemet Ali ; but, 
while he makes a monopoly of everything, in spite 
of treaties and protocols, and undertakes his works, 
profitable in themselves, in his present cruel manner, 
he can add little to the real prosperity of Egypt. 
The situation of Copts, who are not allowed to serve 
in the wars of Mahometans, lest a Moslem should 
meet his death by the hands of an infidel, is now 
much envied. They are employed in the public 
offices, as clerks or accountants ; and, Mehemet Ali 
never allowing rejigious prejudices to interfere with 
his plans, they often rise to situations of great emo- 
lument ; while the native Arabs often resort to the 
cutting off a finger or the putting out an eye to avoid 
the intolerable hardships of the conscription. Among 
our sailors, we had more than half trunci of an eye 
or a finger to escape his levies. Report says, that 
he is still not to be outdone, as he is constructing a 
regiment which shall draw the trigger from the left 
eye. Who will gather in the promising crops of this 
year, I know not, the villages being so cleared of 
their population. 

The magnificent propylon at Edfou became, at last, 
visible in the horizon ; and, whilst the fading colours 



EDFOU. 



77 



of one of the finest sunsets I ever beheld were lin- 
gering in the heavens, we anchored at the nearest 
point to it. I am one of those who like the first 
sight of a ruin by moonlight ; and, consequently, 
soon started off to see the temple. On our road we 
passed a large encampment of Bedouins, with their 
horses tethered, and themselves sitting in groups 
round their tents. We learned that they were on 
their road to Senaar, but that they were delayed 
on their march by command of the Pasha, in order 
to procure men for his canal, for which purpose 
parties of them were visiting the several villages. 
After walking for about twenty minutes, the noise 
of sundry barking dogs told us that we were not far 
from Edfou ; and, after passing through the usual 
filthy and half deserted lanes of an Arab village, 
the temple broke upon our view. As I had seen 
it from the river, it had put me in mind of the 
prints I had seen of Durham Cathedral, or of some 
views of that of Exeter. Standing now underneath 
it, it appeared to me to resemble the massive towers 
which so often flank our old Norman castles. Though 
not of an elegant shape, it is of a gigantic size ; and, 
seen by the moonlight, which cast its broad dusky 
shadows over the miserable huts at its base, it seemed 
even larger than it was in reality. Passing the gate- 
way with the customary emblems over it, we entered 
the dromos, which is surrounded by a colonnade, the 
pillars being headed by the usual capitals. The in- 
terior, though not much injured, is choked up by 
rubbish and building, which might, at a small ex- 
pense, be removed. Under the portico, the filth has 



78 



EDFOU. 



accumulated nearly up to the capitals, and the en- 
trance to the sekos is entirely blocked up. On the 
top is an Arab colony ; but I could find no entrance 
into the interior. The next day, however, I procured 
a candle, and squeezed myself through a hole into a 
dungeon-like room. Around the building is a wall 
to enclose it, and it is all on the same gigantic size 
as the propylon, which is ninety feet in height and 
thirty feet wide at its base, the dimensions at the top 
being only seventy feet by eighteen. The whole area 
is four hundred and forty feet by two hundred and 
twenty : and the largest pillars are twenty-one feet 
in girth, and forty-two feet in height. 

Returning to our boat, we were induced by the 
beauty of the evening, and the singularity of the 
scene, to wander amongst the tents on the bank ; 
and, while standing before that which appeared to be 
the best, we received an invitation from the com- 
manding officer to enter and smoke a pipe. We im- 
mediately complied, and occupied the vacant places 
which were made for us in the divan, though, I am 
afraid, we showed our ignorance of Oriental politeness 
by intruding our slippers on the carpet. His tent 
was very superb, and the bright costume of the in- 
mates, as seen by the light in the centre, formed 
quite a picture. Our arms, which we carried with 
us, afforded much amusement ; and our host asked, 
through our interpreter, the usual questions, as to 
where we had been, where we were going, and how 
we liked Egypt. To all these he received satisfac- 
tory answers. He then asked if we wanted any- 
thing. On being told that we were in want of char- 



ALI EFFENDI BIBASE. 



79 



coal, geese, tobacco, and some other trifles, he said 
that he would send immediately to the Sheikh el 
Bellad, previously to his being employed at the canal, 
and make him procure the articles we were in quest 
of. I dare say he was not sorry to show, in the pre- 
sence of the Franks, with what absolute authority 
the Pasha's representative is armed, and would not 
have been over scrupulous as to any inconvenience to 
which he might put the Sheikh. We thanked him 
for his good intentions, exchanged a few more civili- 
ties, and adjourned to our boat. Being anxious for 
his assistance in procuring the articles we required, 
we sent him from our boat a bottle of brandy, as an 
inducement to a little activity in our service. He 
represented himself as a colonel in the Pasha's army, 
though born a Russian subject at Mazan, his name 
being Ali Effendi Bibase. In the morning we invited 
him to breakfast with us, and, though a gentlemanly 
person in exterior, he certainly did not shine in our 
estimation as our companion at our morning meal. 
He put his knife and fork into the wrong hands, 
drank brandy in large quantities in his tea, and show- 
ed all the petty manoeuvring of the East, by trying to 
get out of us all that he could, begging for powder, 
&c. Being anxious to see the propylon, I again 
walked off in the direction of it, leaving my friends 
with the colonel, who told them on parting that he 
should be at Cairo in twenty days, and that it would 
give him great pleasure to entertain them a la Turque. 
After he was gone, his servant (I hope, clam domino) 
came down to beg another bottle of brandy, and the 
Bedouin captain said that he would let us have horses 



80 



EDFOU. 



to ride to Elkab for the double-barrelled pistol, which 
had amused them all on the night before. 

I had reached the temple of Edfou, where my 
friends soon joined me, and felt how wise I had been 
in getting my first view of it by an Eastern moon. 
Though, as a matter of course, I became better ac- 
quainted by daylight with its vast proportions and 
details, yet I must say that I preferred the dim ob- 
scurity of my first visit, to the bright outline of its 
several parts under a dazzling eastern sun. The as- 
cent to the top of the propylon I found very easy, 
and was delighted with the view from it, comprising 
the eastern and western ridges of mountains, and a 
fertile plain of nine or ten miles in diameter. The 
sculptures presented nothing of any great novelty, 
and consisted chiefly of hawk-headed deities, and ani- 
mals of various kinds, with various unintelligible sym- 
bols ; the only thing that struck me particularly being 
the great size of those on the propylon. After en- 
deavouring in vain to enter the seJcos from the top, 
amongst a collection of filthy Arab huts, we started 
for our boat. On our road we passed the new canal. 
The Fellaheen were working in companies of fifty 
each, to whom a certain portion of the work was 
allotted, whilst taskmasters, armed with long whips, 
were incessantly applying them to the shoulders of 
the lazy and refractory. One, in particular, was rush- 
ing up and down the banks, and spreading the utmost 
terror wherever he came, as he distributed blows and 
lashes with much force and little discrimination. It 
was a painful thing to see human beings thus treated 
like brutes, and, whilst witnessing their degradation 



ELKAB. 



81 



and toil, I was forcibly reminded of the labours of the 
children of Israel. 

Having regained our boat, the sailors plied their 
oars vigorously, and in three hours we were at Elkab. 
Here we went on shore to visit the grottoes, which 
we reached after a walk of about a quarter of an hour 
over the ruins of the ancient town, which in many 
parts are now covered by the sand of the desert. 
The wall, formed of burnt brick, of great thickness 
and height, still stands, and, to judge by the remains, 
the town must have been once considerable, though 
now uninhabited. About a quarter of a mile beyond, 
in the side of the mountains, are the grottoes. They 
are a series of tombs hollowed in the rocks, and some 
few of them still excite the interest of the traveller 
from the paintings with which the walls are adorned, 
illustrative of the customs and habits of the ancient 
Egyptians. Agricultural labours, the vintage, boats 
under sail, or being towed, cooking, funeral proces- 
sions, a water-bearer, cutting trees, a feast with mu - 
sical instruments, catching and salting fish, a farm- 
yard, a master and mistress sitting with a monkey 
eating grapes at their feet, are all delineated in their 
rude style. We were, in fact, introduced to the pri- 
vate life of those who lived three thousand years ago. 
Within these tombs are often statues much defaced ; 
and in an adjoining chamber are the sarcophagi, 
which have been all plundered for the sake of the 
treasures which they contained. Indeed, over the 
whole declivity of the hill, and for a considerable dis- 
tance in the plain, human bones and portions of cere- 
cloths lie scattered in every direction. 

e 5 



82 



ESNEH. 



Having ordered our boat lower down the river, we 
returned over the edge of the desert by a curious 
excavation in the rock, which had been probably used 
as a quarry, but the sandstone had been cut so as to 
resemble a building, portions of the stone having been 
left as pillars. Crossing some land which yielded to 
our feet, and from which the Nile had only recently 
retired, we soon arrived at our boat, but indeed found 
it no easy matter to get on board, as the boat could 
not be brought near enough to prevent our having to 
walk on mud which would scarcely bear us up. Our 
crew came to our assistance, but as they were knee- 
deep in mud, could do little for us. After some con- 
sultation, we ended our dilemma by divesting our- 
selves of our nether garments, and, assisted by our 
men, wading to our boat as well as we could. We 
were all pretty tired, and having soon retired to rest, 
were much pleased on waking at sunrise to find that 
Esneh was in sight. 

We staid at Esneh the whole day, our rai's being 
in want of bread, and anxious to lay in a supply of 
that necessary article whilst in the cheap district of 
Upper Egypt. Our day was spent in reviewing the 
temple of Esneh, and it was only by a little expostu- 
lation that we were rejoiced in the evening by the 
sight of our crew returning from the bake-house, bear- 
ing in their outer garments the baked loaves they had 
just got out of the oven. Our provision having been 
taken on board our boat, we started for Luxor, our 
rai's promising us that we should see it at sunrise. I 
never saw a crew pull more lustily or steadily as they 
kept their stroke to their favourite song of the Pro- 



LUXOR. 



83 



phet ; and long after I had retired to rest, I could 
hear their well-timed oars and rough guttural voices, 
both one and the other exerted in a way I had never 
witnessed before. Where there is a will there is a 
way, in Egypt as elsewhere, and I must say for the 
credit of my Eastern friends, I have never had reason 
to doubt the promise of an Arab. 

I awoke early, and on putting out my head, found 
that the strength and voices of the men had not been 
exerted in vain. We were moored among some other 
English boats close by the ruins of Luxor and within 
a walk of all that remains of the hundred-gated 
Thebes. A party of our friends, who had taken at 
Cairo a boat too large to go up the cataracts, had 
hired at Assouan a boat by the job to convey them 
to Ebsamboul and back, and consequently, having met 
with no unnecessary delays and obstructions, had 
gained three days upon us. Good luck had attended 
them at Esneh, where they arrived during the time 
of the Pasha's visit there, who, on learning that 
a party of Franks was moored near his steamer, 
in which he performs these progresses through his 
dominions, sent his dragoman on board with an in- 
vitation to pay their respects to him. To the drago- 
man's invitation they returned the cool English an- 
swer, that they were at breakfast, but would be with 
him in an hour. On arriving in the Pasha's presence 
they were treated most affably : coffee was intro- 
duced, conversation entered into, and on their rising 
after a ten minutes'' interview, they were pressed to 
stay longer. When at length they left, they re- 
ceived another invitation to stay with his Highness 



84 



CARNAC. 



at his palace at Fayoum, where he threatened a 
visit. 

But I forget I am at Thebes, and if my reader is 
half as anxious to be introduced in my pages to this 
wonder of the world as I was to visit it, he will not 
thank me for detaining him. After taking a hasty 
glimpse of Luxor, which I had seen on my upward 
passage by moonlight, I started for Carnac ; and, 
shaking off all the volunteer guides, who pressed 
themselves upon me very urgently, followed the track 
which leads to the ruins. The distance of the temple 
is about a mile and a half ; the day was hot and the 
road deep in sand ; but who with a particle of enthu- 
siasm in his composition could feel fatigued when the 
ruins of Carnac were to be visited for the first time ? 
The elegance of the ruins at Philse had much pleased 
me, and the beauty of the position is unequalled in 
the East. Edfou had astonished me with its colossal 
proportions, and as I came first in sight of its immense 
propylon, its similarity to some of our old massive 
cathedral towers gave me an additional interest in it 
— but who would compare either of them with Carnac ? 
I felt glad on every account that I had not visited 
Thebes before, as I am sure many things which had 
much delighted me must have lost by the comparison. 
I entered 'by the most westerly of the two propyla, 
which face towards the south, and after passing that, 
and walking through a small temple of very elegant 
proportions and workmanship, but now nearly choked 
up with rubbish, advanced into a court surrounded 
by a peristyle, having a lofty propylon towards the 
west and looking on the fields towards the river, 



CARNAC. 



85 



whilst towards the East are the most surprising and 
colossal specimens of the temple architecture of Egypt, 
the celebrated portico, consisting of no less than one 
hundred and forty-four columns of vast dimensions 
supporting a massive stone roof, and the whole still 
bearing the faded and uninjured tints of the most 
vivid colouring, and decorated with the usual figures 
and hieroglyphics cut in the best and deepest style 
of Egyptian art. The pronaos is one hundred and 
seventy feet by three hundred and twenty-nine, sup- 
ported by a central avenue of twelve columns sixty- 
six feet high without the pedestal and abacus, and 
twelve feet in diameter, besides one hundred and 
twenty-two of rather less gigantic size, forty-one feet 
nine inches high, and twenty-seven feet six inches in 
circumference, distributed in seven rows on either 
side of the former. In the dromos of the temple 
stands a gigantic pillar, one of many which formed 
an avenue from the propylon across the court, but 
now left alone in his glory, and at the entrance of the 
portico stand (one on either side) two gigantic figures 
much mutilated, with one foot advanced. On the 
walls are the usual subjects portrayed. Victorious 
monarchs advancing to meet some monster-headed 
deity, who looks as amiable as he can at the intended 
honours. Homeric-looking warriors standing up with 
one foot advanced in curiously fashioned war-chariots, 
with a bow at full stretch tightly grasped in their 
hands, and behind them a long retinue of captives, 
the elite of whom they have conquered, to grace their 
triumph. Among the number of those who are thus 
ignominiously treated, is a person who, from the 



86 



CARNAC. 



Jewish cast of his countenance, and the inscription 
which Champollion* reads, Jehouda Melek, King of 
the J ews, is generally considered to be intended for 
Rehoboam, and is supposed to refer to the capture of 
the Jews under that monarch, by Shishak, King of 
Egypt.f 

The scene on entering the portico is truly inde- 
scribable. The mellow light of an eastern sun pene- 
trates, though but faintly, through the injuries in the 
roof and masses of stone and rubbish which lie about 
in all directions, and wherever the eye turns, through 
a vista formed by a long line of columns, the view is 
terminated by some massive propylon in ruins, while 
the position of the columns themselves, some standing 
as originally placed there, others a little out of the 
perpendicular, and some few wholly uprooted and 
only retaining anything like an erect position by lean- 
ing on their neighbours, form an effect picturesque 
indeed, and striking, but strangely in contrast with 
what must have been the character of the building in 
the palmy days of Theban grandeur. 

I left the portico by its eastern side, climbing over 
the wall, which encloses it. Here, amidst almost 
chaotic confusion, stand two obelisks, the tallest in 
Egypt, and nearly a hundred feet high, with the mu- 
tilated fragments of two others, the remains of four 
obelisks, which ornament the approach in that direc- 

* See Appendix, C. 

t " This king of Egypt is totally omitted by Herodotus and 
Diodorus, though Manetho mentions him under the name of Se- 
sonchis, as founder of the twenty-second dynasty." — Wiseman 's 
Lectures, vol. ii. p. 154. 



MEDINET ABOU. 



87 



tion. The space which the temple, or rather temples, 
cover, is a mile in diameter, but with the exception of 
% the portico, which I have described, a hypostile build- 
ing, a few gateways and many propyla at the ex- 
tremities, so complete is the devastation that little is 
left to give an idea to travellers of its original appear- 
ance. After wandering for two or three hours about 
the ruins, I retraced my steps, taking my way, how- 
ever, through the most easterly of the southern pro- 
pyla ; and passing subsequently through the others, I 
found that I had hit on the avenue of Sphinxes which 
once extended entirely between Carnac and Luxor. 
The few nearest Carnac are comparatively perfect. 
As you advance, they present a more mutilated ap- 
pearance, and in some few instances have completely 
disappeared. Their size is very great, and the avenue 
is easily traced out continuously. Half way to Luxor 
are the ruins of a small propylon, from which a line 
of crio-sphinxes diverge, some of a smaller size having 
cats' heads. As I was coming near to Luxor, a few 
drops of rain fell, which, clad as I was in a white 
calico jacket, made me seek the shelter of a kind of 
doum-trees. It ceased to rain in about ten minutes, 
and though in England, you would have hardly 
noticed this trifling shower, I was assured that it was 
the only rain that had been seen there for three years, 
The next day I crossed to the other side of the 
river, and having ordered donkeys, which we found 
in waiting for us, we were soon on our road to Me- 
dinet Abou. On our road there we visited the 
colossal figures which are seen from a great distance, 
and are commonly known by the names of Tamy and 



88 



STATUE OP MEMNON. 



Shamy. They are in a sitting posture, and were 
originally sixty feet high, but the soil has accumulated 
above the rock on which their pedestal is fixed, to the 
depth of seven feet. They were built by Amunoph 
the third, and stood on either side of the dromos 
leading to a temple built by that King. Along the 
royal road which seems to have passed between them 
from the temple to the river, and at right angles to 
that from Luxor to Carnac were once colossal statues 
and pedestals, but all these have long since disap- 
peared. But perhaps their chief attraction is, that 
the most northerly of the two is the much famed 
musical statue of Memnon, which is reported to have 
sent forth at sun-rise the sweetest music. The concur- 
rent voice of antiquity relates this curious fact, which 
it appears hardihood to doubt : indeed, I saw in 
Greek and Latin numerous inscriptions on the Colos- 
sus himself, testifying that the visitors had heard the 
sounds. If they did hear something (and perhaps it 
would be going too far to assert that all these worthies 
of old had by consent propagated so useless a lie) I 
should think it much more probable that the sound 
was produced by some artifice of the Egyptian priest- 
hood, than that it resulted from the natural causes to 
which it is attributed ; for, in the latter case, there is 
no reason why the statue should have ceased his mu- 
sical propensities, as those modern travellers, who 
have visited it before sunrise, all agree in reporting 
to be the case. Before our Saviour's time it seems to 
have fallen to pieces, as the lines of Juvenal testify to 
have been the case in his age — 

" Dimidio magicse resonant ubi Memnone chordae 



THE MEMNOMIUM. 



89 



but it has long since been rebuilt, and now presents an 
entire appearance. 

As we proceeded to Medinet Abou we passed 
many huge blocks of red granite, nearly buried in 
the rubbish, and, from the utter confusion in which 
they lie, presenting little to interest. The whole 
neighbourhood is covered with those tufts of coarse 
reedy grass, which spring up when cultivation is 
neglected, and generally denote the site of ancient 
ruins. At length we arrived at the temple, — and 
perhaps few of the Egyptian temples are more com- 
pletely buried beneath the ruins of huts, and the 
accumulation of broken materials and rubbish than 
this, rendering it difficult to form an estimate of the 
proportions of the building. Climbing over a per- 
fect wall of such rubbish, we at length got into the 
court, in which are five pillars still standing of a 
Christian church, which once stood in the centre. 
Round this court is a colonnade of magnificently cut 
pillars, eight on the east and west, and five on the 
sides, with capitals in imitation of the shut lotus, 
while at the west is a double row, those in front 
being massive square columns, with figures attached 
to each, now nearly destroyed. Enough, however, 
remains to shew that they held the sacred tau and 
flail, and resembled in position those at Ebsamboul. 
I never saw hieroglyphics of finer and deeper cutting, 
and the colouring, where it remains, is as vivid as 
enamelling. Leaving the ruins, after spending as 
much time as we could afford, we kept to the north 
along the edge of the desert, and after half-an-hours 
riding reached the Memnonium, the palace temple 



90 



MEMNONIUM. 



of Rameses the second. The wanton hand of vio- 
lence has been here too active to allow the traveller 
to trace the original design. The propylon is lite- 
rally nothing but a mass of ruins, and through the 
courtyard of the palace, between the columns adorned 
with gigantic figures of Osiris with his tau and cro- 
sier, runs the common road from Medinet Abou to 
Gornou. The most perfect part is a colonnade im- 
mediately behind that of the dromos ; it consisted 
once of eight rows, each of six pillars, of which 
twenty-eight only remain, and the two middle rows 
present the usual open lotus, while the others exhibit 
an imitation of the sun-flower in a closed state. The 
most interesting object here is the colossal statue of 
red granite, near the entrance, now thrown down, 
and disfigured and shattered in every direction. It 
is called the statue of Memnon, or Amunoph ; its 
proportions are vast, being twenty-six feet broad 
between the shoulders, fifty-four round the chest, 
and nearly sixteen feet from the shoulder to the 
elbow. The face and head-dress have been much 
injured, but the hieroglyphics identify him with 
the hero whose victories are commemorated on the 
wall. We clambered about this huge statue for 
some time, returning to our boats a little after 
sunset.* ' 

* The large obelisks at Carnac, the largest in Egypt, weigh, it 
has been computed, near three hundred tons ; the colossal statue 
of Rameses the Second when entire near nine hundred tons : both 
of these were brought from Syene, one hundred and thirty-eight 
miles. Herodotus gives a description of a monolithic temple at 
Buto which was forty cubits, or sixty feet in length, breadth, and 



PIC-NIC AT THEBES. 



91 



We were anxious to spend a long day on the 
western bank, some in order to survey the ruins 
more accurately ; others with the laudable ambition 
of a day's slaughter among the quails, who inhabited 
the beans and corn in great numbers. We, there- 
fore, made arrangements for so doing, agreeing to 
terminate the day by a pic-nic dinner, sub Jove, 
beneath the vocal Memnon, which would give us 
an opportunity, among other things, of a visit to the 
ruins by moonlight. What would our pic-nicing 
friends in England give for the same certainty in 
making their arrangements as we could trust to under 
the dry and bright sky of Egypt ! We left our boats 
for the western bank early in the morning, ordering 
our culinary apparatus to follow in time to give us 
a dinner at 5 p.m. under the statue ; and we each 
contributed our best towards the promotion of the 
hilarity of the evening. As I rode across the fine 
alluvial tract on the western bank, I could not 
but think how fine was the situation chosen for 
the capital. A magnificent plain of eight or nine 
miles in diameter, encircled on either side by the 
lofty range of sandstone hills which separate the 
habitations of man from the trackless desert, sur- 
rounded the site of the city, while the Nile, rolling 
its fine stream through the centre of it, served as 

thickness. Now supposing the walls of this were six feet thick, 
it has been computed that its weight must have been about five 
thousand tons ; and if it came from Syene, must have been moved 
seven or eight hundred miles. The pedestal on which the colos- 
sal statue of Peter the Great stands at St. Petersburgh weighed 
twelve hundred tons. — See Wilkinson. 



92 



RUINS OF THEBES. 



a means of intercourse with distant nations, and 
fertilized with its annual rise the otherwise parched 
country. 

Passing hastily through the temple of Medinet 
Abou, we entered the tombs of the Queens, some 
little distance between the bare and sandy desert. 
Throughout the whole walk we were followed by 
crowds of Arabs, offering relics of humanity and 
other trifles collected from the tombs. Turn wher- 
ever we would, legs, arms, and heads rifled from their 
last resting-places ; some bare, others with the cere- 
cloth still adhering to them, were passed in review 
before us : while one little fellow carried on his head 
a basket filled with skulls, each of which he offered 
me at the moderate rate of two piasters (I may 
literally say) a head. I cannot say, however, I felt 
much inclined to become the purchaser. The tombs 
consist of apartments hewn in the rock. The paint- 
ings which once adorned the interior have been dis- 
figured and blackened by the torches of the Arabs 
and others in search of objects of value, and the 
tombs themselves have been rifled of everything 
which could possibly fetch a piaster. Near the 
entrance I observed a mummy lying stripped of 
its cere-cloth ; and on entering one of the rooms, 
I found clothes, bones, skulls, and coffins, heaped 
in one disgusting melee of sepulchral confusion, — 
the work of curiosity and plunder. Little did those 
who centuries ago consigned the corpses of their 
high-born dames to the tomb, think the day would 
come, when their bodies would be torn from their 
resting-place, and left to whiten with those of the 



TOMBS OF THE QUEENS. 



93 



meanest animal on the sands of the desert ! It 
may be a judgment, thus to be wounded in their 
weakest point. 

It being mid-day, our sportsmen commenced the 
battue. The game was in great number, and a quan- 
tity fell ; but the difficulty was not so great to hit them 
as to find them when down, both from the luxuriant 
vegetation which concealed their little bodies, and the 
steep and wide cracks everywhere around. Sufficient 
havoc was, however, committed to form a consider- 
able reinforcement to our dinner. It would have 
amused an English farmer to see the utter uncon- 
cern with which our Arabs turned their horses and 
donkeys into the standing corn, whilst a crowd of 
boys as well as the sportsmen were treading it down 
in all directions. Not that we did any harm in that 
dry country. A little before sunset our party of 
eight, consisting chiefly of old college friends, par- 
took of a very comfortable cold dinner under the 
vocal Memnon. We spread our cloth on the green 
sward, and drank to the health of our friends in 
England. I am sure we shall all look back to this 
meeting at Thebes as one of the pleasantest days we 
spent on the banks of the Nile. 

When the moon had risen we again mounted our 
donkeys, and started by her brilliant light to get 
one more glimpse at the court of the temple of 
Medinet Abou, which had so much pleased me at 
my first visit. I need not say, it lost nothing when 
viewed by moonlight. The stillness and desolation 
of the spot, the deep and distant shadows cast by the 
massive propylon and gigantic columns, made it a 



94 



GORNOU. 



scene worthy of a painter, or a poet ; and when we 
entered the court, the silvery light streaming in 
between the double rows of pillars which terminate 
the western end of the court, and just rendering visi- 
ble the grotesque outline of the sculpture and deeply 
cut hieroglyphics, gave an air of magic to the scene. 
I afterwards mounted by the wellknown stone stair- 
case to the top of the propylon, whence the view 
into the court beneath really surpassed all that I 
had conceived of it during my inspection below. It 
was now getting late, and remounting our donkeys 
we retraced our steps to our boat. The next day we 
devoted to the tombs of the Kings ; one of the chief 
objects of interest connected with ancient Thebes. 
On our road to them we stopped for a few minutes 
at the temple of Gornou, of which the only remain- 
ing portion, a portico of no great extent, and a few 
chambers in the interior, neither detained us long 
nor deserve notice. The tombs of the Kings lie 
about five miles in a north-westerly direction from 
Gornou, and the approach is by a road cut through 
the sandstone rock. Nothing can be more desolate 
than the way : all traces of vegetation soon cease ; 
and, following the track, no doubt in days of yore 
a well-kept road, you soon find yourself enclosed 
on all sides by the desert. It is indeed a locality not 
unsuited to the purpose, well befitting the receptacles 
for the mighty dead of old, those who earned renown 
in their day by deeds of war and bloodshed, now 
uncoffined and unknown. I did not, however, see 
around the entrances the same number of disinterred 
mummies. The bodies are probably fewer from 



TOMBS OF THE KINGS. 



95 



being taken to adorn the various collections in dif- 
ferent parts of the world. The entrance to the 
tombs is like that of a mine, and the angle of 
descent is greater or less according to the capabili- 
ties of the rock in which the excavation is made. 
The tomb called after Belzoni is by far the most 
interesting, both from the size and number of the 
rooms, and the beauty and freshness of the colour 
upon the walls. This tomb is three hundred feet 
long, and contains no less than fourteen chambers. 
The entrance is by a long descending staircase, which 
ushers you into the first series of chambers, from 
which another staircase of twenty-six steps conducts 
you down to the remaining rooms. One on the first 
descent is very fine ; it is twenty- five feet square, 
and the roof is supported by four square columns. 
The ceiling is coloured black, and the walls are filled 
with representations of different subjects. From this 
room you pass into another apartment equally aston- 
ishing from the various and vivid colours of the 
paintings which represent the achievements of the 
deceased, including some of the fanciful mythology, 
as well as scenes from the domestic life and habits 
of the ancient Egyptians. To the passing traveller, 
the paintings generally present little to interest, being 
tiresome repetitions of grotesque-headed deities re- 
ceiving offerings, long scrolls of incomprehensible hie- 
roglyphics, and figures of monsters, which produce 
no impression but that of disgust. In many of the 
delineations found in the tombs, and representing the 
manners of the ancient people of the land, there is 
much which is no less interesting to the uninitiated 



96 



THEBES. 



than valuable to the man of research and the anti- 
quarian. 

What a wonderful insight into Egyptian manners 
do these tombs give ! Why, you seem just as fami- 
liar with the household furniture of the Great Sesos- 
tris, the form of the plates and cups he used, and the 
sofa on which he lounged, as you are with the contents 
of Buckingham Palace. Here are musical instru- 
ments of every conceivable form, harps like Erard's 
last, lyres like David's lyre, guitars, drums, sistra, and 
something which very much resembles broken pieces 
of the inside of a pianoforte. Here are poulterers'' 
shops, bakers and confectioners, cooks spitting their 
hot joints for royal kitchens or ordinaries, three-legged 
stools, camp stools, ottomans, sofas, and luxuriant 
couches, conversation before dinner ; the dinner itself, 
with ladies in tall Elizabethan ruffs, ear-rings, and 
gay head-dresses, and gentlemen in full-bottomed 
wigs ; monkeys and parrots on the floor ; servants 
handing removes, and removing first courses ; vases 
most curiously ornamented with heads of animals and 
grotesque monsters ; and on you go looking at them 
till you would not feel yourself the least surprised to 
find the Great Sesostris at your elbow, a guard of ho- 
nour stationed all the way from the vocal Memnon to 
the Palace, and you yourself about to attend a levee 
or dinner in the palace of the Pharaohs. You are 
even introduced to the amusements and lighter hours 
of the Egyptians. The mora, the dice, and the ball, 
were not unknown to the ancients, and you may well 
ask, What is there new under the sun ? for you even 
find dolls to amuse good little children, and little 



THEBES. 



97 



images of crocodiles with strings to pull their jaws, 
perhaps to terrify into obedience the refractory young 
subjects of Pharaoh. But all is changed ; they who 
acted in the dumb show before you are the mummies 
lying at your feet, swathed and pickled three thousand 
years since. 

At Cairo, Colonel Vyse, Champollion, and Belzoni 
had superseded Cheops and his tw r o illustrious imita- 
tors : and here, as you stand admiring the variety and 
elegance of the musical instruments, you find the 
tomb bears, not the name of any Pharaoh, but that of 
Bruce ; that another, the most elegant of all, has 
merged all the honours of its royal builder and tenant 
in the name of Belzoni. Indeed, we can hardly be 
surprised, if, in some future age, learned antiquaries 
debate whether Belzoni was really one of the shepherd 
kings, or Champollion the true, undoubted Sesostris ! 
But there are things of more serious import. There 
are representations of the plague-spot of Egypt, that 
accursed idolatry which brought down over the country 
the anger of God, and caused those who had taken 
the lead in science, civilization, and power, to be the 
meanest of kingdoms, and the most degraded of 
nations. Here are creeping things and abominable 
beasts, unnatural monsters, and hideous serpents of 
every description, the foul objects of Egyptian wor- 
ship : whilst in one room, though hardly in accordance 
with the doctrine of the migration of souls, which 
was a principal part of Egyptian belief, Osiris, the 
judge of Amenti, is represented as seated in judgment; 
and before him the souls of the departed are cited, 
and weighed in the balance of Amenti. In the 

F 



98 



TEMPLE OF CARNAC. 



instance represented the decision seems to have been 
unfavourable, for the soul is seen cast back to the earth 
into the unclean body of a swine. Strange combina- 
tion of the foulest idolatry with some yet remaining 
shadowy glimpses of primeval truth.* 

During the limited time I could devote to Thebes, 
I took the opportunity, when no other engagement 
interfered, to visit the vast area occupied by the 
ruins of the temple of Carnac. They are, indeed, 
grand and impressive, and I never returned from in- 
specting them without regretting that the time al- 
lotted to Thebes must so soon terminate. I used 
generally in my walks to traverse the Avenue of 
Sphinxes, once frequented by victorious monarchs or 
triumphal processions ; now in perfect solitude, over- 
grown with grass, except where the bleating of the 

* I have extracted from Sir J. Gardiner Wilkinson's valuable 
work on the " Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians" 
the following remarks upon their mythology. Speaking of Osiris, 
he says, " His principal office as an Egyptian deity was to judge 
the dead, and to rule over that kingdom where the souls of good 
men were admitted to eternal felicity. Seated on his throne, 
accompanied by Isis and Nephthys, with the four Genii of Amen- 
ti, who stand on a lotus growing from the waters in the centre of 
the divine abode, he receives the account of the actions of the 
deceased^ recorded by Thoth. Horus, his son, introduces the de- 
ceased into his presence, bringing with him the tablet of Thoth, 
after his actions have been weighed in the scales of truth. To 
Anubis, who is styled the c Director of the Weight,' belongs this 
duty ; and, assisted by Horus, he places in one scale the feather 
or the figure of Thonei, the goddess of truth, and in the other a 
vase emblematic of the virtuous actions of the judged." 

" Osiris was called the < Manifester of Good,' or, the 1 Opener 



TEMPLE OF CARNAC. 



99 



flocks or the howling of the Arab dogs in the neigh- 
bouring villages disturbed the stillness. In many 
places the devastation at Carnac is immense ; pillars, 
roofing, capitals, and obelisks, lying about in heaps, 
half-buried by the rubbish of the Arab huts and the 
accumulation of sand. Yet the stones, where not 
broken by violence, are as perfect as when they were 
taken from the quarry, their edges as sharp as though 
cut yesterday by the tool, and the sculpture as clear 
and fine as though but recently finished by the chisel 
of the sculptor. Moss, lichen, ivy, or any of the va- 
rious seals which old Time sets on our northern ruins, 
are here wanting ; and while other things change in a 
few hundred years, and some of man's greatest works 
have been utterly annihilated in the lapse of time, the 
ruins of Thebes defy Time's rudest attacks, and appear 
after three thousand years and more, except when 

of Truth/ and said to be c full of goodness, (grace,) and truth.' 
He appeared on earth to benefit mankind ; and after having per- 
formed the duties he had come to fulfil, and fallen a sacrifice to 
Typho, the evil principle, (which was at length overcome by his 
influence after his leaving the world,) he 1 rose again ' to a new 
life, and became the judge of mankind in a future state. The dead, 
also, after having passed their final ordeal, and been absolved 
from sin, obtained in his name, which they then took, the bless- 
ings of eternal felicity." 

" The two main principles on which the religion of Egypt was 
based appear to be, the existence of an omnipotent being, whose 
various attributes, being deified, formed a series of divinities, each 
worshipped under its own peculiar form, and supposed to possess 
its particular office ; and the deification of the sun and moon, 
from which it might appear that a sort of Sabeean worship had 
once formed part of the Egyptian creed." 

f 2 



100 



MOONLIGHT VISIT 



injured by wanton violence, in all the freshness and 
beauty of youth. 

A little to the south of the remains of the four 
obelisks, and on the east of the portico, are the ruins 
of a colonnade, the pillars of which bear a striking 
resemblance to those of the Doric order, and leave 
no doubt on my mind that the idea which the Greeks 
brought to such perfection was originally transplanted 
from Egypt. They are fluted, with a square abacus, 
and are by Sir G. Wilkinson properly called proto- 
doric, and by him attributed to the age of Osirtesen 
the First. Passing to the east of the sekos, now with 
all its chambers either entirely buried or thrown down, 
you come to a hypostyle building, several columns deep. 
These pillars are remarkable for the conceit which the 
builder has introduced into them, the capitals repre- 
senting the usual shut lotus, but in an inverted position. 
The building was formerly used as a church by the 
Greeks, and on many of the pillars I observed the 
stucco still adhering, and could trace the figures of 
the saints with which they were decorated. The last 
evening of my stay I walked off with some of my 
friends to see Carnac, also, by moonlight. It was a 
brilliant eastern full moon, shining, not as in northern 
climes obscurely bright, or even with a silvery beam, 
but with a faint golden hue, which it shed over the 
otherwise deep blue sky. The scene was a lovely one, 
even independently of the associations which forced 
themselves on my mind, suggested by the picturesque 
position of many of the columns, either in a prostrate 
state or leaning upon others, and of the fine old 
gateways and ruined obelisks. Here was before me, 



TO THE TEMPLE OF CARNAC. 



101 



desolate and deserted, untenanted save by unclean 
beasts, the proudest fane of one of the most splendid 
cities on which the sun ever shone. Yet, here many 
suns had risen and set since Thebes, with all her 
palaces and temples, had been numbered among the 
fallen. Unrivalled in her wealth, her treasures, and 
her power, she seems to have been set forth, in her 
fall, as a lesson and warning to the wicked and 
idolatrous cities of the East. The prophet Nahum, 
when he rebukes the profligate Nineveh, asks in the 
language of severe expostulation, " Art thou better 
than populous iVo, that was situate among the rivers, 
that had the waters round about it, whose rampart 
was the sea, and her wall was from the sea? Yet 
was she carried away, she went into captivity : her 
young children also were dashed in pieces at the top 
of all her streets : and they cast lots for her honoura- 
ble men, and all her great men were bound in chains."* 
So speedily, indeed, and completely was fulfilled the 
threat of the prophet on the idolatrous Egyptians. 
" And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set 
fire in Zoan, and will execute judgements in No. 
And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength 
of Egypt ; and I will cut off the multitude of JVo, 
and I will set fire in Egypt : Sin shall have great pain, 
and No shall be rent asunder.^-f- 

* Nahum, ch. iii. v. 8. 10. 

+ Ezek. ch. xxx. v. 14, 15, 16. 



]02 



CHAPTER IV. 

Denderah. — Manpaloot.— Beni Hassan.-— Pyramids of Sakkarah 
and Dashour. — Memphis.— -Cairo. 

Soon after sunset on February 24th, we loosed our 
moorings from the hundred-gated Thebes, and com- 
menced our downward course. As we passed the 
boats of our friends, still lying there, we saluted 
them with our double-barrelled guns, which they re- 
turned. A few minutes served to bring us abreast of 
Oarnac and its gigantic propylons; in a few more we 
had left it some distance behind us; and> in less than 
an hour from the time of starting, their indistinct 
forms were no longer visible, and we had to bid 
adieu (most probably for ever) to the ruins of 
Thebes. The night was bright and still ; our men 
sang most lustily their usual rowing-song, and plied 
their oars with no little vigour; so that we found our- 
selves, when the dawn broke, at Kenneh. Feeling 
rather unwell, I lay quiet until summoned to join my 
friends, who were starting for Denderah. It is 
about two miles inland, on the west bank of the 
river, and is one of the most elaborately and ele- 
gantly finished temples in Egypt. As usual, its front 
is blocked up by an accumulation of rubbish; and, 
from the unfinished work about the propylon^ it is 



DENDERAH. 



103 



most probable that some calamity interrupted the 
work, which has never since been resumed. The 
pronaos consists of three rows of three columns each 
on either side. They are all surmounted by the 
head of Isis Quadrifrons, bearing a towering Romano- 
Egyptian head-dress, the folds of which fall down on 
both sides of the face beneath, and project beyond it. 
The ceiling is encompassed by three broad circular 
lines, and in the central space is an assemblage of 
mythological figures, amongst which the lion, the 
bull, the water-bearer, and other signs of the zodiac* 
are visible, crowded together with no appearance of 
regularity. From these representations a theory has 
been framed and warmly supported, that these paint- 
ings, and others of the same kind, are really zodiacal 
tables; and from this assumption a date has been as- 
signed to the temple of Denderah, strangely beyond 
the limits even assigned to the existence of the world. 
Even more moderate computations have not hesitated 
to give to Denderah an antiquity upwards of three 
thousand years.*f* I think, however, no one can sur- 

* See Appendix, D. 

+ Among the Hindoos, we find the Brahmins to be in posses- 
sion of astronomical tables, which they assert to be five or six 
thousand years old. Dr. Wiseman remarks upon this subject, 
that " the first operation in any system of astronomy must be the 
division of the heavens, without which all astronomical determina- 
tions would be impracticable. The earliest Indian division is into 
lunar mansions, formerly twenty-eight, and now twenty-seven, in 
number. While history places this operation at a period between 
1528 and 1375, b.c, the astronomical data mentioned in conjunc- 
tion with it exactly coincide. For the place of the equinoxial 
and solstitial points gives the year 1426, b.c. ; and the singular 



104 



SIOUT. 



vey Denderah with an unprejudiced mind, and with 
the slightest insight into Egyptian art, without being 
convinced that the temple is comparatively of modern 
date ; and that the profuse and neatly cut hiero- 
glyphics betray, in their want of the deepness and 
boldness so remarkable at Carnac, a state of things 
so common in the history of the arts, when neat- 
ness and delicacy of execution are more prized than 
boldness and spirit. The famous zodiac has been 
purchased by the French Government from Mehemet 
Ali, and now graces the Museum at Paris. 

The next two days little transpired to interrupt the 
monotonous character of the descent of the Nile. The 
breeze pertinaciously springing up at sunrise, it was 
only by occasional attempts that during the night we 
could loose our moorings. On the evening of the 
second day, we attempted to pass the lofty foreland 
of Sheikh Heredi ; but the wind blew in such squalls, 
that it was sunset before we succeeded. The night, 
however, was calm, and in the forenoon of the follow- 
ing day our men brought us to Siout. I do not know 
anything prettier in Egypt than the walk of about a 
mile from the river to the town. This is by an ele- 
vated causeway, the sides of which are planted, and 
within sight of the governor's house ; with a palace of 
Ibrahim Pasha, prettily situated in a wood of fig, 
carruba, and other trees, above which the tall mina- 

mythology of the operation, which states the planets to have been 
bora from different (laughters of Daksha, when reduced to the 
astronomical language of occultations of the moon in the respec- 
tive lunar mansions, gives precisely the same period, 1425, b.c." 
— 7th Lecture, p. 26. 



MANPALOOT. 



105 



rets produce all their usual graceful effect. I walked 
back through the fields, where the corn was just be- 
ginning to change colour; and the beautiful dark fo- 
liage, in contrast with the bright mountains behind, 
lighted up by the setting sun, put me in mind of many 
a view of a similar class in old England. Getting on 
board at dusk, we crept down to Manpaloot by the 
next morning, when the north wind again proved our 
opponent, and obliged us to remain moored during 
the whole day. Hearing some music at a distance, I 
walked into the town, and found that it proceeded 
from an awkward squad, who were receiving instruc- 
tion in military manoeuvres at the barracks. The 
town, judging by the fine mosques and other good 
buildings in it, must have been a place of some im- 
portance, but now bears marks of decay. About 
sunset we loosed our moorings in a calm ; but, the 
wind springing up, we made but little progress : and, 
though during the night we got on a little, we were 
obliged, the whole of the following day, to remain 
moored to the bank in a sheltered spot, out of the 
gale ; and right tired I recollect we were of gazing on 
a great sandbank on the western side, and a long in- 
terminable line of date-trees, which extended along 
the eastern bank, and bounded our view. However, 
" patience is a virtue," and nowhere more required 
than in descending the Nile. 

Unmooring at sunset, we crept on to a village 
about two miles from the caves of Beni Hassan. 
Here we left our boat, and, with our dragoman and 
some volunteer Arab guides, started for the grottoes. 
No donkeys were to be had, and we were compelled 

F 5 



106 



BENI HASSAN. 



to walk. I remembered to have seen these excava- 
tions on ascending the river, as they are of great 
extent, and for full two miles the perpendicular rock 
is quarried into chambers and galleries. The wonder 
is, where the city stood which required such an ex- 
tensive necropolis ; though I conjecture, from the 
mounds of earth with coarse rushes growing over 
them, that the remains of a city, now altogether de- 
stroyed, must be looked for in the valley below. I 
turned into the mountains by a different path from 
that which my companions took, and arrived at an 
excavation very similar to the rock-temple of Nubia, 
having two rows of square pillars, with the ordinary 
frieze and cornice and winged globe cut out of the 
solid rock. The interior consisted of one room only. 
Continuing my walk over rubbish and uncultivated 
ground at the edge of the desert, near the ruins of a 
village, I turned up to the grottoes. They are worth 
mounting to, were it only for the fine distant view 
over the Nile, and its green banks, which you can 
enjoy from them ; but their chief interest is con- 
nected with the fact of their being considered to be 
some of the most ancient of the Egyptian grottoes. 
Some of the rooms into which I entered are of a con- 
siderable size, and supported by four or six square 
columns left in the rock. A few of the pillars which 
I observed were very similar to the clustered pillars of 
the Decorated style of English architecture ; those of 
Exeter Cathedral, for instance. They do not consist 
of so many members, being divided by perpendicular 
cuttings into four semicircular divisions only; and &re 
bounded above by horizontal bands, and surmounted 



BEN I HASSAN. 



107 



by the usual capital of the shut lotus. In the most 
northerly portion of the building are some columns, 
which strike a person as being pure Doric, and can 
leave no doubt upon his mind that to Egypt Greece 
is indebted for the rudiments of that architecture, 
which, in a subsequently civilized state, she brought 
to so great perfection. Many of the caverns are so 
much injured, that it is impossible to decipher the 
meaning of the paintings with which the walls are co- 
vered. In two large apartments, where we entered, 
there is much to interest; the subjects of the paint- 
ings being games, agricultural and domestic opera- 
tions of all sorts, as well as offerings made to the 
gods, and are in a good state of preservation. It is 
singular that there is scarcely a vocation of common 
life which is not found represented by the Egyptians 
on their tombs, accompanied by hieroglyphics ex- 
planatory of their meaning. They appear to have 
desired that the dead man, though removed from the 
occupations of life, should yet have with him some 
memorial of his sublunary employment and amuse- 
ments. The most elaborately decorated tombs, how- 
ever, probably received their embellishments from the 
care of those who were eventually to repose in them. 

During the night we had descended below Minieh, 
and by breakfast-time were abreast of Gebel-el-Tain, 
on the fine heights of which the Coptic convent is 
situated. They were soon apprized of our arrival, as 
we could distinguish forms running down the staircase ; 
and some emissaries from the fraternity, if not mem- 
bers of the cloth themselves, were in no long time 
swimming round our boat with urgent solicitations for 



108 



BENISOEUF. 



buck-sheesh. The wind continued sadly against us, 
and our crew were not over-fond of much exertion ; 
and, though we had hoped to reach Benisoeuf by the 
next morning, when the sun rose we found we were a 
considerable distance from it. During the day, how- 
ever, the wind was light, and we made considerable 
progress ; Benisoeuf being only about six miles distant. 
Our crew had made up their minds to stay there, and 
we found it useless to think of proceeding beyond it 
the same night ; so we told them, if they would get on 
to the town, we would not leave it till the next morn- 
ing. The river had also become so low that we were 
constantly aground ; and this in the dark was no trifle, 
it being often near an hour's work to get us off, and 
the noise of our crew, up to their middles in water, 
endeavouring by main force to shove us into deeper 
water, being not the most agreeable lullaby. Indeed, 
I suspect that they often run us aground, and so left 
us, until one of our party insisted on our proceeding. 
During the last night we had arrived at Benisoeuf, where 
we had got our bread ; and, to judge from our crew, I 
should think there was no lack of booza, an intoxi- 
cating drink made from dates, of which the lower 
classes of Arabs are excessively fond. The day was 
calm, and we descended at a rapid pace, passing on our 
way down a whole fleet of boats laden with chaff* for 
camels, as also a large boat sunk, with its masts above 
the water. Should the boats by any possibility be 
swamped, it seems to be the Arab custom to leave 
them to their fates. 

Many large boats passed us ascending the river, and 
we learned that they were in quest of corn, as the 



PYRAMID OF AS AW A. 



109 



Pasha was about to send large quantities to Kamboul. 
An immense boat, which annually proceeds from the 
cataracts to Lower Egypt, was moored to the bank, 
unable to proceed from the lowness of the Nile ; and 
many other boats seemed much embarrassed by the 
scanty supply of water, hunting about for a channel, 
but half their time aground. Towards noon we came 
in sight of the most southerly pyramid. It is called 
the Pyramid of Asawa, and I do not think is much 
visited. It stands at about an hour's distance from 
the river on the edge of the desert, and is built in 
four stages, the lowest tier being formed of unhewn 
rough materials, while the rest are constructed of 
polished stone. When seen from a distance, it has 
the appearance of a tower. The view from the back 
of it over land, now wholly desert, bears traces of 
having been once cultivated. Returning home about 
sunset, we gave orders to make the best of our way 
to the nearest point from whence we could land to 
view the pyramids of Dashour and Sakkarah. 
Though Dashour is not considered above five or six 
hours from Haram Asawa, it was ten the next morn- 
ing before we moored at the nearest point to the 
pyramids, having been detained by the wind. 

On landing we were unable to procure that neces- 
sary means of locomotion in Egypt, donkeys ; and, 
sultry as the day was, we were obliged to make our 
way to a village a mile and a half distant, and there 
try our fortune. Luckily it was market-day, and, 
while intent on the object of our search, we contrived 
to get a few oranges to slake our thirst. Donkeys, 
such as nobody but an Eastern traveller would think 



110 PYRAMIDS OF DASHOUR 

of mounting, we soon procured, and we were on our 
way to Dashour. The finest of the pyramids lies 
considerably within the desert; and, as these immense 
masses always appear much nearer than they really 
are, we found that we were in for a long ride. The 
first pyramid which we reached is of a singular shape, 
so that at a distance the elFect is not good. It slopes 
upwards at much the usual inclination for fifty-one 
feet, and then starts as it were from a new base, at a 
much more acute angle, terminating about a hundred 
feet from the ground. The casing is of polished lime- 
stone, formed by cement. Half an hour's distance 
from this is the second pyramid, of very much larger 
dimensions, but by no means in so good a state of 
preservation as the last ; immense masses having been 
removed from it to the east and north-east side. Its 
effect is thereby much injured when seen near, though 
at a distance, the line of its elevation not being broken, 
it presents a noble appearance. Each side of the base 
of these two pyramids is nearly seven hundred feet. 
The interior of the most northerly has been explored; 
and if the traveller does not mind creeping down a 
sloping passage for two hundred feet, and crawling a 
further distance on all fours, he will be rewarded by 
finding himself at the entrance of the lofty chambers, 
connected by a low passage. The structure of the 
rooms is remarkable ; each successive course of stone 
commencing from about ten or eleven feet from the 
ground, and projecting about six inches above the one 
below it, till the two walls meet. 

A little nearer Sakkarah, we passed a brick pyra- 
mid, said to be that built by Asyches, the successor 



AND SAKKARAH. 



Ill 



of Mycerinus. Herodotus relates that the king or- 
dered this inscription to be placed upon his work : 
"Do not despise me in comparison with the stone 
pyramids, for I am as superior to them as J upiter is 
to the other gods. In striking down into the lake 
with a pole, whatever mud adhered to the pole, col- 
lecting it, they made bricks of it, and thus formed 
me." I am afraid visitors of the nineteenth century, 
a.d., will entertain a different opinion from the Egypt- 
ian king relative to the respective merits of pyramids 
of brick and stone; for, while those of stone have 
stood the attacks of time uninjured, the pyramid of 
brick has suffered to such an extent from age, that it 
is a perfectly mouldering mass, and its shape is en- 
tirely lost. Passing on, we found the rocky flat 
covered with very small pyramids, both of brick and 
stone; some so ruined as to appear but heaps of rub- 
bish, one wholly without its top, and only one in any 
degree perfect. 

At Sakkarah commences the immense necropolis, 
generally considered to have belonged to ancient 
Memphis, and to fix the site of that interesting city 
somewhere in the immediate vicinity. The whole 
edge of the desert for some miles is raised in tumuli, 
among which excavations have been made to the pits 
beneath. These are all found to contain human 
bodies, piled one upon another ; and the graves are 
built of brick, as with us. The usual havoc is visible ; 
bones, mummy-cloths, and fragments of coffins, cover 
a vast extent of ground, while everything of the least 
interest or worth has been carried off. We passed the 
mouths of many pits which had been thus ransacked, 



112 



MEMPHIS. 



and we would have willingly lingered longer on the 
spot, which, in spite of some contrariety of opinion, is 
most probably the burying-ground of the ancient 
capital of the Pharaohs. But the sun was far sunk 
in the horizon, and we had no wish to be benighted, 
not knowing the exact spot where our boat would 
meet us. 

Returning to the cultivated ground, we saw two or 
three granite columns, half-buried in mud, and the 
colossal statue of Rameses lying on its face, the only 
remaining memorial of his temple to Hephaestus or 
Phthah. Herodotus tells us that in his time there was 
in Memphis, before the temple of Vulcan, a colossus, 
erected by Amasis, lying on its face, of the height of 
sixty-five feet. Singular is it if this should be the 
identical statue. How many revolutions must it have 
slept through ! What a striking commentary was our 
day's walk on the words of prophecy, " I will destroy 
the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out 
of Noph. By the swords of the mighty will 1 cause 
thy multitude to fall. They shall spoil the pomp of 
Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroy- 
ed."* Strange, indeed, that the city of the dead 
should so long have survived the city of the living ! 

Before we crossed the wide plain between us and 
the Nile, it was already dark ; and, on arriving at 
the river; we soon found that it was not possible 
for the boat to come in there, on account of the 
shallows. Going on about half a mile, we were no 
little delighted at seeing a flickering light in the 

* Ezek. xxx. 13 ; xxxii. 12. 



BOULAC. 



113 



distance, which proved to be from our cabin ; and, 
before arriving at the boat, we met most of our crew, 
armed with clubs to protect us, as they said, but, 
I believe, to protect their cowardly selves. What- 
ever may be their faults, however, in that respect, 
we always found them willing and good-humoured, 
and on this occasion they offered to carry us to our 
boat, where by their assistance we arrived safely. 

We had now almost finished our descent of the 
Nile, for at night our men took to their oars ; and 
long before daybreak we ascertained that we were 
moored at Boulac, exactly two months from the day 
when we had left Cairo, having travelled in that 
time more than one thousand five hundred miles on 
the stream of the magnificent Nile. From my own 
experience I should say, that it is easier during the 
winter months to ascend, than to descend, the Nile ; 
but then I know that we were remarkably fortu- 
nate, for we had a brisk north wind in our favour 
to start with on the very day on which we had 
arranged our departure, and I do not recollect in 
the whole distance to Ebsamboul more than four 
or five days in which we were wholly becalmed. 
You have this advantage, also, in ascending, that, 
if you have a calm, the men are obliged by agree- 
ment to track your boat from sunrise to sunset ; a 
slow mode of proceeding, but yet advancing you full 
twenty miles a day ; whereas, when in descending 
the wind is strong, you cannot move, but must lie 
sheltered in some nook until the wind abates. Be- 
sides, the excitement attendant on spreading and 
tacking your tall latteen sails, with the dancing 



114 



MANAGEMENT OF ARABS. 



motion of the boat over the rippling surface, puts 
you quite in good spirits and makes you ready to 
enjoy anything. I must also give my travelling 
friends a hint, that I think it possible to manage your 
Arabs without resorting to the extremity of beating 
them on every trifling provocation. The Arab, both 
in Egypt and in Palestine, (for in the desert you dare 
not lift your hand against the free and fiery Bedouin,) 
is, like the rest of the human species, generally man- 
ageable by kindness ; and, if you can so gain your 
end, you not only do so more pleasantly, but you 
acquire more influence than if you give way to ill- 
temper and resort to violence. You must, of course, 
be decided, and occasion may even arise when strong 
measures must be adopted. 

We took our breakfast on, board, and anchored, as 
we were, amidst a host of boats and barges ; the scene 
around us not being unlike what I should conjecture 
would occur at Wapping any morning. Having 
procured camels, we packed up our goods, and bid- 
ding good-b'ye to the boat, which, like the cobbler's 
stall, had served us so well for parlour, kitchen, and 
all, for the last two months, started for Cairo. I 
can assure my friends, and that with all honesty, 
that, if they wish to spend two, three, or even four 
months agreeably and profitably, I know of no way 
in which they can do it so readily as in a tour up 
the Nile. You are able to carry with you all the 
necessaries of life, and those sufficient to satisfy the 
most fastidious ; and travel through the most re- 
markable scenery in the world, with the most won- 
derful ruins of the most ancient civilized people to 



CAIRO. 



115 



behold; and all this without fatigue or annoyance, 
since you can anchor your boat at the nearest pos- 
sible point to the objects of interest, which can never 
be more than three or four miles from the river. 
Nor is it a very dear amusement. Perhaps our 
equipment — mattresses, coverlets, carpets, and culi- 
nary utensils, might have cost us each ten pounds. 
Our boat, including a rais and eight men, was three 
thousand piasters a month, or about thirty guineas, 
making ten guineas for each. Our dragoman re- 
ceived twelve dollars a month, our cook about the 
same, and our provision, even including tea, wine, 
brandy, &c, which we laid in at Cairo, did not ex- 
ceed eight pounds per month ; so that, I believe, 
as we travelled with three in our boat, the expenses 
of each did not exceed twenty guineas a month, not 
including our equipment, which served us during our 
subsequent travels in the desert and Palestine. 

On our way up to Cairo, I met my friend F — , 
who had come down in hopes of finding us, in 
order to say that the party, who intended to pass 
through the desert by Petra to Palestine, had agreed 
to start the next day. This was rather quick work ; 
and after a few pros and cons we finally agreed to 
wait for a few friends who had arranged to accom- 
pany us in the route, since, on going to the consulate, 
we found that there was no difficulty in meeting with 
a Sheikh to conduct us as far as Akabah at any time 
upon the usual payment. Having made this decision, 
we took a lodging, for which we paid thirty piasters 
a-day, being accommodated with three bedrooms 
and a salle a manger. 



116 



SHOOBRA. 



We seemed quite at home again at Cairo, and com- 
menced arrangements, so as to be able to start at a 
very short notice. For 31. we purchased a green 
tent, which we found sufficiently large for three, and 
answered our purpose very well. Here let me recom- 
mend to such of my friends as intend to travel in 
the East, on no account to take out a tent with them 
from England, for they can buy one in the East both 
cheaper and more suitable. One thing we were very 
anxious to do before quitting Cairo, and that was, to 
get a sight of Mehemet Ali, who, we heard, had just 
arrived at his palace at Shoobra, near Cairo, on his 
way to Alexandria. We at length managed to bring 
about our desired object, by means of one of our 
friends who had some acquaintance with the drago- 
man of the Pasha. Accordingly, on the third morn- 
ing after our return to Cairo, we proceeded to Shoobra, 
Nothing can be more delightful to the feelings than 
the early morning at this season of the year in Egypt ; 
and as we rode along the avenue that leads from 
Cairo, with the luxuriant crops of corn, the artificial 
grass and vegetables, on each side of it, with our old 
friend the Nile rolling his fine broad stream at our 
left hand, I felt an exhilaration rarely experienced 
but under the clear sky of the East. 

Shoobra is a little more than an hour from Cairo, 
and a favourite retreat of the Pasha, who has laid out 
the gardens in European taste. They are of great 
extent ; the gravel walks are kept neatly brushed, and 
every here and there a pretty kiosk meets the eye, 
intended for smoking. The collection of flowers is 
poor, the bright dry atmosphere of the East not being 



MEHEMET ALI. 



117 



favourable to their cultivation ; but all the produc- 
tions of tropical climes are found in great beauty. 
In one part is a perfect wilderness of orange, lemon, 
almond, and pomegranate trees. The water-palace, 
which I before described, is at one side. 

On our arrival at the gate of the palace, we were 
told that his Highness was at breakfast, and after 
waiting a short time in front we were invited to walk 
into the garden, and there remain until he had finished 
his meal, when he would take his usual walk round 
the garden. Loitering about, we at length caught a 
distant glimpse of the Pasha and his suite, and heard 
the roll of the drum which saluted him as he passed 
the gates at which the guards were stationed. We 
kept, however, at some distance till we saw the drago- 
man who was to introduce us. Following the cortege 
at a little distance, on arriving at a circular spot with 
an arbour in it, the Pasha stopped, and, seeing us, 
begged us to advance, at the same time ordering 
chairs to be brought, occupying one himself, and 
placing us opposite to him. By means of the inter- 
preter, who spoke French to us and Turkish to him, 
the Pasha immediately entered into conversation. 
He first asked us, how long we had been in Egypt, 
how far we had travelled, and what we intended next 
to visit. We told him that we had been as far as 
Ebsamboul, and were going to Syria by the way of 
the desert ; upon which he asked of how many our 
party consisted, and whether we were all English. 
On being told we were, he seemed much amused: 
We then paid him some compliments on his fine dry 
climate, the beauty of his gardens, and the choice of 



118 



MEHEMET ALL 



his flowers, and he, not to be behind us, told us that 
the industry and energy of the English did more for 
him than all the natural advantages of the country 
had done for him, finishing by what the interpreter 
translated " Les Anglais sont des braves gens." We 
could not help thanking him for the perfect security 
with which the traveller may now visit the interesting 
ruins of Egypt; at which he seemed much pleased, 
telling us that not many years since, the country was 
in so insecure a state, that it was dangerous even to visit 
the pyramids, and that an English General had been 
obliged to request a guard before he would venture to 
incur the risk of seeing them. I could not help telling 
him how fortunate I considered Egypt to be in having 
so noble a river as the Nile to enable him to transport 
his corn and merchandize, and to afford him the means 
of communication with all the world. This, I fancied, 
he did not much like, as he not long since sent some 
corn to England, but, having impressed a boat into 
the service which was not sea- worthy, it was neces- 
sary to coast the whole way, and when at length the 
corn arrived at its destination, it was condemned as 
unfit for human food. Besides, his peculiar hobby is, 
to improve the manufactures of Egypt ; and, though 
he annually sinks thousands, he will persevere in 
attempting to manufacture, (although, for this, Egypt, 
both from situation and natural causes, is wholly un- 
suited,) rather than sell to those who would willingly 
buy his produce, and return it to him in a manufac- 
tured state at a far less cost than he can contrive 
himself to work up the raw material. Coffee was 
introduced while we conversed ; the best Mocha 



MEHEMET ALI. 



119 



being served up in most elegant china cups on filigree 
stands and covered with a costly silver cloth. During 
the time of our conversation, the ruler of Egypt kept 
eyeing us with his keen piercing look. Mehemet 
Ali is not exactly the person I expected to see. I 
had heard much of his common plebeian appearance, 
and was most agreeably disappointed. In person he 
is much under the usual size, with a fine open fore- 
head, and piercing eye incessantly rolling about, and 
a venerable white beard. His dress was that of a 
Cairo merchant, though of beautiful materials. He 
wore a tarboosh without a turban, and had stockings 
under his red slippers. His countenance, when at 
rest, might be called stern, but has nothing in it indi- 
cative of cruelty ; and when he smiles, the expression 
of his face is rather prepossessing than otherwise. At 
his affability we were all much delighted. Seeing 
this soldier of fortune under these favourable circum- 
stances, I could hardly believe that I was in the 
presence of a man who had waded through blood to 
his present high position, who had hesitated at the 
commission of no crime when it would advance his 
object, and who is at the present moment grinding 
down his subjects by tyranny and oppression of every 
sort, and making himself a curse instead of (what 
his talents and situation would enable him to be) 
a blessing to the degraded and long-misgoverned 
Egyptians. 

Our time, of course, during the few days we spent 
at Cairo, was much occupied in preparing for the 
desert. No one in England can imagine how much 
trouble the dilatory nature of the Arabs costs you. 



120 



MOSQUES IN CAIRO. 



One day, however, I got away into the most distant 
part of Cairo, in order to visit the Gama Tayloons, 
said to be the oldest mosque in Cairo. It is situated 
in one of the poorest parts of the town, and is in the 
usual form of a quadrangle ; and on the south side, 
round which is a colonnade, is the place of prayer. 
The columns are here four deep, and on the other 
sides they consist but of two. The great object of 
attraction is, that in a building which was erected 
about a.d. 897, the arches and also the windows 
in the wall are slightly pointed, proving the existence 
of that form of arch in the East prior to any well 
authenticated account of its introduction into Europe. 
The cornice running round the building is very pretty; 
but, Mehemet Ali having seized the funds which 
were set apart for the maintenance of the mosques, 
the whole building is neglected and ruinous. How 
much better would it be if he would keep up these 
ancient and interesting memorials, rather than build, 
as he is doing, new mosques ! On one side of the 
building are tablets in the Kuphic character, of which 
the old Imaum, who acted as our cicerone, told us 
that the French had taken copies. 

From thence I went to the mosque of Sultan 
Hassan, the finest in Cairo, and a very conspicuous 
object from the citadel and other parts of the town. 
The entrance to it is by a lofty flight of steps, which 
leads, as usual, into a court, with a fountain in the 
centre. At the end is the place of prayer, about 
the size of a small church ; and beyond this is a 
mausoleum crowned with a lofty dome, the resting- 
place of Sultan Hassan. The flooring is of marble, 



MOSQUE OF SULTAN HASSAN. 



121 



and there are traces of fine arabesque work about 
the building, but time and neglect have done much 
to destroy its beauty. The tomb, protected by a 
balustrade, is in the centre, and on it are some flags, 
which, on certain days, are waved from the top of the 
minaret. On the tomb are two copies of the Koran. 
We were shewn some blood stains on the floor, where 
some mamelukes had fled for shelter, trusting to the 
sanctity of the place. The " religio loci," however, 
did not protect them. They were barbarously cut 
down and murdered. I took another walk the same 
evening to the citadel, to see the sun set with the 
dark purple hue so peculiar to this clime. I stood 
some time watching the Leviathan Pyramids as they 
were lighted up by his last rays ; and as their gigantic 
forms were just beginning to become indistinct, re- 
traced my steps through the narrow streets of Cairo 
to my lodging. 



122 



PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY. 



CHAPTER V. 

Starting for the Desert. — Suez. — Red Sea. — Wilderness of Sinai. 
— Convent of Mount Sinai. — Akabah. 

At last we had arranged to start for Mount Sinai 
and Akabah, in hopes of being able, eventually, to 
reach the Holy Land through Petra. " Nothing ven- 
ture, nothing have," and a sight of Petra is an object 
well worth a little risk. Besides, we had heard that the 
El Alouin were becoming more practicable. We had 
agreed with Sheikh Basharah, that he should have 
the honour and emolument of escorting us. He was 
a fine, good-humoured, obliging fellow, and one of the 
best specimens of his race that I have met with. At 
the Consulate at Cairo, we had set our hand to an 
agreement, by which we consented to give Basharah 
for each camel to Akabah, two hundred and fifty 
piasters ; if we returned, one hundred and fifty 
piasters back-fare for each, and he was to remain 
forty-eight hours to learn our determination; either 
party, who should not be ready on the day finally 
agreed on, undertaking to pay ten piasters for each 
camel — in so business-like a manner was this camel 
lease drawn up. We took on the same two servants, 
one, our dirty, drunken, but good-tempered Greek 
Abraham, the other an honest, sober Arab, and con- 



GREEK CONVENT. 



123 



sented, in addition to their wages, (eighteen and twelve 
dollars per month,) to pay their passage back to Egypt. 
Signs of departure appeared early in the morning; 
not in the shape of a vehicle, but a dozen camels with 
their drivers, filling up the passage before our door, 
which was called a street, and grunting away most 
unmelodiously as they obeyed their masters orders. 
The clay, however, had nearly slipped away before 
we had finished our preparations, and our desert 
equipage packed on two camels; and not being so 
much enamoured of the patriarchal life as to wish to 
sleep just outside Cairo, within reach of all the idlers 
from the town, we agreed that everything should be 
taken into the desert, and that we ourselves should 
make a fair start from the town in the morning. As 
the Pasha was impressing camels for his own service, 
we procured a pass to allow our beasts to escape his 
clutches. As we left Cairo on the following morning, 
we visited the Greek convent, and procured the custo- 
mary letter to be our passport to the brotherhood of 
Mount Sinai ; eventually leaving the city by the Bab - 
el Nusr gate. We then passed, for the last time, 
the resting-places of the Mameluke Beys ; and as 
their pretty domes, and crescents, and minarets, were 
just hidden by some rising sandhills, our tents be- 
came visible. But a few minutes and all was ready 
for the march ; and bidding adieu to our friends, we 
entered on the track, worn by more than four thou- 
sand years of traffic. 

Camel mounting and riding proved much worse in 
anticiptation than in reality. I think we must have 
had some Bedouin blood in our veins, for we took to 

G 2 



124 



THE DESERT. 



it very readily, even to mounting and dismounting 
without assistance ; and though the pace is slow, and 
the motion rather like that of a ship in a rolling sea, 
yet I passed many a pleasant hour on the hump of 
a camel. Now, indeed, desert life had commenced in 
reality. About four p.m. we turned aside from the 
main route, a few hundred yards upon a wady or 
valley. At the word of command, down went the 
camels; and in a few minutes, where all before had been 
still and desert, a pretty green tent, nicely carpeted 
inside, was standing ; a fire was laid and lighted in a 
hole, and, protected from the sand by our chests, our 
cook was preparing our meal. Patience, I found, a 
necessary ingredient in this Bedouin life, as the 
Arabs seem to have no more idea of time than their 
forefathers who lived nearly a thousand years, and 
might well afford to waste an hour or two. 

Soon after seven o'clock on the following morning 
all was again ready for motion. Nothing can equal 
the delightful freshness at this early period of the day 
in the desert. The night has cooled the air, which 
blows with an invigorating freshness, that is hardly 
to be felt elsewhere. As we turned again into the 
main route, I could just distinguish the minarets of 
Cairo, and the silver thread of the Nile, on whose 
bosom I had travelled so many miles, as we glided 
between the deep green fields on its banks. I now 
turned my back upon them, and following the undu- 
lating tract to Suez, soon lost the last view of the 
rich and fertile land of Egypt. The day was bright 
and warm, and the tract of the same undulating 
character between low ridges of hills, like a neglected 



THE DESERT. 



125 



turn-pike road in England, hard and uneven, and 
covered with small sand and pebbles, which the least 
wind blew provokingly against your face. We had 
dismounted for the purpose of walking, as the heat of 
the day was past, when our sheikh called us a few 
yards to the side, and shewed us some human ske- 
letons whitening under the sun. They were soldiers 
of Ibrahim Pasha's army, who had died from fatigue 
and privation during his disastrous retreat across the 
desert, and we could even distinguish the uniform of 
the Egyptian soldiers in the few rags rotting about 
them. They had, evidently, been but just covered by 
the sand, and then again exposed by the effect of the 
wind, and along with the whitening skeletons of 
camels, which mark the main tract from Cairo to 
Suez, the retreat of this unfortunate army told a 
tale of hardships and sufferings in its most fearful 
extent. We kept across the plain till a little after 
four p.m., when we turned a little out of the track, 
and pitched our tent under a low ridge of hills to the 
north. In all the wadys, which are generally nothing 
but water-courses, tufts of tufa and other shrubs are 
found, and the camels are let loose after the day's 
march to browse on the scanty herbage, and then 
returning at sunset, are fed with a few handfuls of 
beans or corn. Our Bedouins, lean, gaunt figures, 
very much like many gipsies one meets in Old Eng- 
land, seemed to feel no fatigue, singing as they walk- 
ed the livelong day by their camels, and easily satis- 
fied after the toils of their march with a scanty bowl 
of pottage. 

W e continued our progress the day after, over 



126 



JEBEL ATAKAH. 



the same plain on which we had already entered, 
the same line of low hills confining our view on either 
side. There was very little air, and the sun shone 
fiercely, blistering the face excessively. The only 
objects to mark the uninteresting route were, a 
solitary acacia-tree, and the tomb of a sheikh, who 
had died on his pilgrimage. After a most fatiguing 
day, we encamped in Wady Seid Aba Zeid, under a 
range of hills on the northern side of it. I now felt 
that the desert had its disadvantages. The water 
in our skins was stale, and tasted as if leather had 
been soaked in it ; and dry and parched as I was, 
I could not venture to quench my thirst with 
such an unpalatable draught. We continued in the 
wady for some time, and after crossing a torrent 
bed with a few trees in it, Jebel Atakah gradually 
broke upon us on the south-east. It is a mass of 
dark limestone rocks, much higher than any we had 
yet seen, and extending its frowning cliffs to the 
edge of the Red Sea. Descending the pass towards 
the plain which surrounds the northern, and north- 
eastern part of the sea, we met a caravan of between 
three and four hundred camels, on their route to 
Cairo, with coffee and other produce. There were 
among them some of the finest beasts I ever saw. 
Their only guard was half a dozen Bedouin Arabs, 
more for show I should think than for any service. 
How like were they to such a company of merchants 
as took J oseph down into Egypt ! 

The Eastern traveller is constantly reminded of 
the expressive language of Scripture, and of the 
propriety of its allusions to manners which are 
so different to our own, as often to present to the 



THE WELL OF SUEZ. 



127 



mind, nothing but vague and indistinct ideas. The 
camel, the desert, the water-skin, the girdle and 
the sandal, bring you back to patriarchal times, and, 
unchanged as are the customs and manners of the 
Patriarchs, many an incident every day recalls, with a 
force hardly to be believed, the simple and faithful 
descriptions of the Bible. I often thought of the 
phrase " no abiding city," as I mounted my camel 
for starting, and could see no traces of our resting- 
place for the night, but a little flattening of the sand, 
and a few holes, and in a few days not even these 
would be left to denote that man had dwelt there. 
Fit and apt illustration of the longer pilgrimage of life, 
the tabernacling three score years and ten, and then 
the place knowing its tenant no more. Rebecca 
alighting from her camel ; Hagar and her water- 
bottle ; Abraham sitting at his tent door ; and Jael 
with her tent-pin in her hand, (so similar were our 
daily occupations,) suggested themselves times with- 
out number. Indeed there was little to dispel the 
illusion that we were living about as many years b.c. 
as we happened to be a.d., and I do think, consider- 
ing that we had been used to many comforts un- 
known to those primitive times, we behaved won- 
derfully well as Patriarchs. 

As we descended to the low grounds, we saw the 
mirage, which has been as often described by tra- 
vellers. The plain before us seemed a succession of 
lakes of water, and so strong is the deception, that I 
even thought I saw trees on the water's edge. 
About three p. m. we reached the well of Suez ; 
there are, in fact, two wells, surrounded by a square 



128 



SUEZ. 



massive turreted building, by means of which Suez 
is principally supplied with water. On tasting it, it 
appeared to us exceedingly brackish and bad, and 
even our camels, though they had not drank since leav- 
ing Cairo, did not seem to shew any great anxiety 
to quench their thirst. Some of them, I believe, 
drank nothing. We reached Suez soon after four, 
and pitched our tent just outside the wall, on the 
north side, close to the sea. We rose early, and 
entered the town, which is one of the poorest places 
I was ever in. It was all activity, in consequence of 
the hourly expected arrival of the Indian steamer, 
which in about two hours we saw steaming up the 
gulf. Suez is situated at the head of the gulf to 
which it gives its name, at the edge of the desert, by 
which it is surrounded on three sides, with scarcely a 
single blade of grass in its neighbourhood. The best 
water that can be got is brought from the fountain, 
but even this is brackish. It is generally, however, 
dependent upon Cairo for its supplies. We had sent 
our camels round by the head of the gulf, having 
made the arrangement that we should wait in Suez 
till the afternoon, and then take a boat and join our 
riding camels on the other side, as our resting place 
for the night would be Aga Mousa, about two hours 
and a half riding from where the boat would land us. 
The day had been unusually sultry and hot, such 
weather as commonly precedes a storm, and before 
we had half crossed the plain, between the sea and 
the fountains, the sand began to rise in clouds, and it 
was evident from the overspread sky, and the misfs 
rolling on the mountains behind Suez, that we should 



THE FOUNTAINS OF MOSES. 



129 



be caught in the rain. On looking back, the view 
was grand, the deep blue sea, with the dark desolate 
line of Jebel Atakah at its back being dimly seen 
through the deluge of rain, while the little town of 
Suez at its base, appeared as if resting on the waters. 
We fared, however, better than we expected, for 
the storm took only a slanting direction over us, and 
being fully fortified by our great-coats against the 
little rain which fell upon us, we thoroughly escaped 
anything worthy of the name of a wetting. The 
sun gave us a parting gleam before he hid his head 
behind the dark masses of Atakah, and the moon 
soon rose in a cloudless sky. 

Having a few things to get at Suez, and also in- 
tending to take some refreshment there, we were not 
prepared to start till nearly two o'clock, when, 
getting into our boat, which was awaiting our ar- 
rival, we were ferried across to the continent of 
Asia. It was getting dark as we arrived at the 
wells, which are called the Fountains of Moses, 
and our baggage had not yet come up. However, 
in about half an hour it appeared, and we pitched 
our tent under the shelter of one of the few palm-trees, 
which are scattered about the wells. They are 
held by tradition to be the resting-place of Moses after 
the passage of the Red Sea, and consist of a number of 
pools of brackish water, the northernmost of which is 
considered to be the best. The number of them is 
uncertain, for water may always be found by digging a 
little in the sand. Near the largest was a cottage, in 
which an Arab family resided, who contrived to sub- 
sist upon the narrow slip of land they were enabled to 



130 



WADY SUDEB. 



irrigate. Around the pools grow a few stunted palm- 
trees, but they appear of no little value in this bar- 
ren waste. We read, of course, as we came along, 
the sublime description of the passage of the Is- 
raelites, and the song of Moses, and the children of 
Israel. Indeed, if the Bible is the Christian's guide- 
book through life, it is emphatically so in the desert, 
where it was constantly in our hands, the best illus- 
trator and explainer of our most interesting route. 4 ' 

We had pitched our tent under a knot of palm- 
trees, which had sheltered us from the wind ; but 
our situation was by no means comfortable, owing 
to the dampness of the sand. The storm of the 
preceding day had cleared off, and the morning was 
fresh and lovely ; the green glassy sea contrasting 
beautifully with the deep bronze of the lofty hills 
on the opposite side. On the north-west, Suez, with 
its little fleets of boats, and two or three large 
steamers was shining in the sun. Our route lay 
along the eastern side of the gulf, to the dark chain 
of Ruhat, and from its flatness, would have been un- 
interesting, were it not for the associations connected 
with it. Crossing several wadys, which are nothing 
but outlets by which the torrents from the mountains 
in the winter find a passage to the sea, we pitched 
our tent in the evening in Wady Suder, having be- 
fore us a fine view of the sea, and the frowning 
precipices on the African side. Fortunately, the 
night was calm, or we might have been much in- 
commoded by the sand blowing along the large 
level tract. As we rose in the morning, the sun was 
* See Appendix, E. 



MAR AH. 



131 



just gilding the dark rock of Atakah, and the broad 
Wady Tawarah, and the more southern Kutalah. 
Our way for some time was across the same great 
plain, which now, under the name of Wady Wardan, 
lay before us as a broad strip of sand, intersected 
by water-courses. We soon, however, turned to 
the left, and followed a tract between a low ridge of 
sand-hills on either side. It was soon evident that 
we had left the flat plateau which extends from El 
Rahah to the sea, and were gradually entering a 
mountainous country. The fine peak of Jebel Sa- 
bel was visible at a great distance, overtopping the 
rest. The heat was intense, and the beams of the 
sun, reflected from the hills on either side, seemed to 
search our very brains. About midday we passed 
the Wady El Amaneh, in which are a few shrubs ; 
and then ascending, soon came to the fountain Hawa- 
rah, conjectured to be the ancient Marah, where the 
Israelites found the waters bitter. I dismounted to 
view the fountain, which lies on a hill a few paces to 
the left. It is a basin of seven or eight feet across, 
and one or two deep, cut in the limestone-rock, which 
all around is impregnated with saline particles from 
the well. I tasted the water, and found it very bad 
and brackish, and tasting of the weeds which are 
growing in it. This spot lying, as it does, about 
thirty-three miles from Ayrin Mousa, would be reach- 
ed by the Israelites in about three days, which was 
the time occupied by them in travelling from Ayrin 
Mousa to Marah. 

After crossing a plain for about two hours, covered 
with the tufa and other shrubs, we entered a pass 



132 



WADY HUMR. 



among the hills, which, after about another hour, 
brought us to the head of Wady Ghurundel, where 
we encamped, after having travelled in it for some 
distance. This wady had many more shrubs and 
bushes than we had yet seen, and there were even a 
few palm-trees here and there. It is supposed to 
be the Elim of Scripture, where the Israelites 
rested, and found twelve wells and three-score and 
ten palm-trees in it. We here replenished our skins 
with water. In the morning we continued our route 
in the same wady for a little distance, and then en- 
tered a ravine on the left. The dark outline of 
Jebel Hummam was at our right ; and, as we as- 
cended on to the open ground, I caught a glimpse of 
the blue line of the sea, the fine point of J ebel Ser- 
bal being visible towards the south. Our route con- 
tinued sometimes along narrow valleys, sometimes 
across the ridges and open spaces which separated 
them, until, a little after noon, we entered Wady 
Humr, which has the appearance of being a broad 
torrent-bed. Along this we travelled the rest of the 
day ; the distant mountains breaking upon us as we 
advanced, and the scenery becoming more wild and 
picturesque. We encamped in Wady Humr, with 
the high rocks on either side of us. Hitherto we 
had probably journeyed from Suez much in the track 
of the children of Israel. To-day, however, we had 
diverged from it, for we read, that after leaving 
Elim, their next encampment was by the sea. It 
is probable that they had passed up Wady Ghu- 
rundel, and left it at the point where we had left it; 
that they then journeyed directly under Jebel Hum- 



PICTURESQUE ENCAMPMENT. 



133 



mam, and thence to the Wady Taiziteh, at the mouth 
of which there is a plain sufficient to contain such 
a large encampment, lying on the sea-coast. They 
could not have passed down Ghurundel to the sea, 
as Jebel Humman extends its precipices quite down 
to it, so as to cut off all passage along the coast for 
such a multitude. Being at Wady Taiziteh, on their 
route to Mount Sinai, the Israelites would, of necessity, 
advance into the plain (the wilderness of Sin), which 
from this point extends to the extremity of the pen- 
insula along the shores of the sea to the west of the 
Horeb range. From this point they could get to Sinai 
by the Wady Neiran (or Shellal and Mokatteb), and 
thence, passing through Wady Eil Sheikh, they would 
arrive in the centre of the mountains of Horeb. 

The weather had been much cooler, and we had 
enjoyed the delicious freshness of the north wind. 
After having partaken of our slight repast, I strolled 
outside the tent. Our situation was picturesque in 
the extreme. We were encamped nearly in the 
centre of the wady, and the pale moon just rendered 
visible the fantastic tops of the mountains which 
encircled us, and threw their dark shadows far into 
the valley. Our bright green tent was a pretty object, 
in which was burning a fire, round which,to keep off 
the wind, were placed our chests, on which our servants 
were lying at full length, wrapped up in their cloaks. 
At about ten yards' distance our Bedouins had 
lighted a fire, and were laughing and chattering 
round it as they enjoyed its heat, while their swarthy 
faces were lighted up by its lurid glare. Around 
them their camels, ready saddled, and grouped at 



134 



WADY SUWAH. 



their side formed a picture only to be found among 
these wild children of the desert. 

We had taken the upper route to Mount Sinai, in 
order to be able to visit the singular temple at Sura- 
bit el Khadim ; and having communicated our inten- 
tion to Basharah, we had arranged to be off as early 
as possible with our riding-camels, and leave the 
baggage- camels to follow by the regular route. We 
followed Wady Humr for about half an hour, pass- 
ing at the corner of the valley some inscriptions, now 
much injured by the falling of the rock ; and then, 
turning off the regular route to our right, we began 
the ascent of the sandy plain which lay before us, 
whence is a fine view of the country. The Tih, a 
continuation of El Rahah, was on our left; a long 
utibroken chain of limestone mountains extending as 
far as the eye could reach, and before us the sandy 
plain, interspersed in several places by ridges and 
water-courses. After about two hours, we descended, 
and, passing up several small wadys, in which were a 
few acacia-trees growing, entered a broad sandy 
valley, and then ascending through the sand slowly 
and painfully, we reached another valley, sandy as 
before, called Wady Suwah. Passing along it for 
some distance, we saw among the lofty mountains 
which hemmed us in, the peak of El Khadim, and 
continuing our course up the sandy Wady Suwah, 
and rounding the base of the mountain, we, at length, 
stopped on the side of the valley and dismounted. 
Here we left our camels to join us on the other side 
at our descent, and crossing on foot the deep sand on 
the west of the rocky ravine, we began the difficult 



EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 



135 



ascent of the sandstone mountain before us. We 
followed a track along the side of the precipice, which 
Basharah said was known to him alone ; and climb- 
ing slowly along the narrow ridges, and making our 
way as well as we could over the bed of loose stones, 
which were continually giving way under our feet, we 
arrived in about three quarters of an hour at the top 
of one height. Separated only by one ravine from 
the object of our labours, we passed down this chasm ; 
and, mounting as before, found ourselves among these 
mysterious monuments. These ruins lie within the 
small enclosures formed by heaps of stones thrown 
together, and consist of fifteen stones standing like 
tomb-stones, and many more fallen, all sculptured 
with Egyptian hieroglyphics. They are remains of 
a small temple, the capitals of which are ornamented 
with the head of Isis. At the east end is a chamber 
excavated in the rock, the roof of which is supported 
by a portion of the rock which is left as a column. 
This column, as well as the sides of the chamber, are 
covered with hieroglyphics. Fragments of stone and 
sculptures, and fallen columns, lie about in all direc- 
tions and render walking difficult. We scampered 
down as quickly as we could, and I shall never forget 
the delicious draught which I, poor thirsty soul, got 
from a party of Bedouins I met in our track on their 
return from Mount Sinai. 

We here parted with Basharah, who requested 
to be allowed to go and see his wife and family, pro- 
mising to be with us on the morrow, before we 
reached the convent. Starting at seven a.m., we 
continued down by Khumileh, which, by degrees, 



136 INDEPENDENCE OF THE BEDOUINS. 

became narrower and deeper. Where it turns to- 
wards the sea on the west, we kept straight on, 
and ascending over a plain of no great size, came to 
a burial-ground, a lonely, desolate spot, with a few 
stones rudely piled together marking each grave. 
Every hour the scenery became more mountainous 
and of a grander character, the hills, formed of grun- 
stein and porphyry, rising in dark precipitous masses 
on either side, and forming a perfect picture of deso- 
lation. The valley was covered with the debris 
brought down from the sides of the hills by the force 
of the elements, and the loose stones rendered our 
progress slow and painful. Even in this wild spot 
a few trees contrived to attain a considerable size. 
A line of stones across the valley marks the spot 
where the Tawarah had been defeated by the Pasha's 
forces. They had robbed a caravan laden with cof- 
fee and other merchandize, and when called on 
to restore the plunder, sent back this laconic answer, 
" We were hungry, and have eaten." The conse- 
quence was, that the Pasha sent two or three hun- 
dred men against these Arabs, who expecting their 
approach along this valley, built this breastwork ; 
but the troops advanced along the hills, and routed 
the Bedouins with great slaughter. Since that time, 
they have not troubled the Pasha. 

We now ascended the more steep part of the pass, 
the top of which we reached soon after noon, and 
then descended into the Wady Akir. Along this 
we kept between several precipitous cliffs of porphyry 
and granite, and at length encamped on an elevated 
open space at the end of Wady Bereh, w T ith the 



SCENERY OF THE DESERT. 



137 



mountains encircling us with their rugged and pic- 
turesque masses, and Jebal Serbal overtopping all 
with its pointed peak. One of our Arabs, as soon 
as we arrived at our resting-place, went to the tops 
of the hills, and filled a skin with the rain, which 
collects in the holes which abound there. The water 
was muddy, but it had not yet acquired the leathery 
taste to which I had so strong an objection. I took 
my moonlight walk, as usual, to enjoy the effect of 
the dark outline of shadows which these great moun- 
tains flung in fantastic forms across the valley, our 
little encampment sending forth the busy hum of 
men, while all around was the stillness and solitude 
of the desert. 

We all set off in good spirits in the morning, in 
the expectation of reaching the convent in the after- 
noon ; having breakfasted before starting, according 
to our habit, in order to avoid the delay which would 
be occasioned by unpacking our camels, and light- 
ing a fire whilst on our march. We followed the 
course of several wadys, as they wound be- 
tween the precipitous hills on either side. The 
scenery was grand and desolate, and when we left 
the Wady Sheikh, and turned up the ascent where 
the defile begins by which you enter as it were the 
outworks of Horeb, it puts me in mind of many 
of the wildest mountain scenes of Switzerland, or 
the Austrian Tyrol ; yet these are vastly inferior to 
the mountains of the peninsula in their barren and 
bleak appearance. At the entrance of the defile we 
dismounted, and followed on foot a track which 
wound up the mountain-side to the east of the deep 



138 



THE CONVENT 



ravine by which the waters from the hills descend 
to the plains. Above us, the dark sunburnt granite 
mountains rose to a height of three or four hundred 
feet, while detached pieces of vast size, dislodged 
by the action of the heat and rain from their native 
beds, seemed ready at any instant to fall to the 
plain below, and overwhelm the passing traveller. 
The constant ascent of a mere mountain-track we 
found very fatiguing ; yet it was wonderful to us 
how securely our loaded camels travelled over the 
narrow and insecure footing. It was an hour and 
a half before we reached the top of the pass, whence 
the convent is distant nearly two hours. On arriving 
at the top, I found myself completely exhausted 
from thirst and fatigue. Our water had been left 
behind, but on scooping the sand to the depth of a 
foot, the water rushed up, and on dipping our skins 
into the hole we contrived to get a pretty decent 
draught. I here again mounted my camel, and as- 
cending further, soon came to the plain of El Rahah, 
a fine open space between the lofty line of mountains 
which guard the way to Mount Horeb at its lower 
end. It is, as many travellers have justly observed, 
a fine situation for an encampment, but I have 
great doubt whether it is the spot on which the 
Israelites were encamped when the law was de- 
livered. About another hour brought us to the door 
of the convent, where, on presenting our letter, which 
we had brought from the Greek convent at Cairo, 
admission was soon granted us, and we were hoisted 
up by a windlass, turned by four men to the door, 
about thirty feet from the ground. The superior 



OF MOUNT SINAI. 



made each of us a distant bow as we presented our- 
selves before him, and asked to be conducted to 
the stranger's room. 

We followed our guide, and after wandering 
through some rather intricate turnings, ascended a 
flight of stairs, and found ourselves in front of a suite j 
of rooms opening into a balcony, which extended the 
whole of this side of the court. Being but a small 
party, we soon fixed, each of us, upon our rooms, 
whilst a fourth served us as a dining-room. The bed- 
rooms were fitted up with cushions and carpets, 
which had once been handsome, but now bore the 
marks of age. The water of the convent is excellent, 
and though the utmost with which the superior was 
willing to furnish us in addition to it, was a little 
sour bread, we soon contrived, by a few purchases of 
our own, to lay in a tolerable stock of bread for our 
stay at Mount Sinai, and our journey as far as 
Akabah. 

We visited in the morning, in company with the 
superior, the church, which is a massive and solid 
structure of Byzantine architecture, dating from the 
time of Justinian. The building has six arches on 
each side, and a corresponding number of small 
windows of two lights, with a small baluster inter- / 
secting them, generally cut in a twisted cable form. 
Over many windows is a Maltese, or Greek cross. 
The walls are profusely hung with paintings of saints, 
and the screen in front of the altar is richly painted, 
while lamps are suspended in great numbers in various 
parts of the church. A large picture of the Transfi- 
guration ornaments the apse over the altar, and por- 



140 CATACOMBS. 

traits of Justinian and his wife. The floor is neatly 
paved with marble, and the ceiling has been repaired 
within the last few years. But the great object 
of interest is the small room behind the altar, said 
to cover the spot where the burning bush stood. 
Every one who enters puts off his shoes as Moses 
did. The room is a small one, about eight feet by 
six, richly carpeted, and hung around with pictures ; 
while at the end in a circular recess, is an altar, 
before which lamps are continually burning. The 
superior next conducted us, by a low winding passage, 
to the garden, in which is the charnel house of the 
Convent. Here we found skulls, leg-bones, thigh- 
bones, and arm-bones, each arranged according to 
their respective denominations, and, to judge by the 
size of the various heaps, it appeared that it had been 
long the custom thus to distribute them. At the 
door were a few mouldering heaps, where the bodies 
are first interred, and then, after a certain time, 
dug up, to be added to the accumulations of bones. 
We observed a complete skeleton hung up, and were 
told that it was a former archbishop. We were in- 
formed by the superior that the monks are only once 
ill, and that then they die ; but, to judge by the age 
of one or two of the inmates of the convent, it ap- 
pears to be healthy. 

The day had so far gone in seeing the wonders of 
the interior of this place, that we resolved to confine 
ourselves to it during the day. In the garden 
we found a few flourishing acacia-trees, vines, and 
fig-trees, and some plots dedicated to the rearing 
garlic and onions, of which we soon discovered that 



MOUNT SINAI. 



141 



the worthy fathers were by no means sparing in their 
cooking. After walking round the garden, I returned 
to the chapel, where prayers were going on. The 
services in the Greek church are of the same unedify- 
ing character as those of the Romish, being hurried 
over in what, to English ears, is a most irreverent 
and slovenly manner. 

About midday, we started, with our dragoman, 
and some of our friends, for the top of Mount Sinai. 
It proved, as I expected, a hot and fatiguing walk, 
but from the labours of the monks, who have con- 
structed a rude staircase in the rocks, the labour is 
not so great as it would otherwise have been. We 
passed two or three oratories, or places of prayer, all 
having some legend attached to their history, and 
came, in due course of time, to the solitary cypress, a 
remarkable object upon the slope of the mountain. 
Here, at a little distance, carefully whitewashed, is a 
chapel, built over the exact spot where Elijah was 
resident during the time of his sojourn in Horeb, and 
where he was miraculously fed by ravens. Resting 
here for some little time, we again commenced the 
ascent, and in about two hours and a half from our 
leaving the convent, we at last found ourselves at 
the top. Fatigued as we were by the heat of the 
day, and the toil of the ascent, we were delighted to 
be enabled to refresh ourselves with some of the 
delicious water with which the neighbourhood of 
Sinai abounds, and which is said never to fail within 
two hundred yards of the summit. On gaining the 
top of the mountain, the view is awful — magnificently 
awful. The eye ranges over the vast extent of glar- 



142 



JEBEL MUSA. 



ing white limestone mountains, and isolated ridges of 
dark grunstein and porphyry, for something where- 
on to rest with satisfaction, some little oasis amongst 
the scorched arid mountains. But it is wanting : all, 
all, is desolate ; not a particle of vegetation meets 
the eye to relieve the almost unearthly grandeur of 
the gloomy scene. What must the effect have been 
when " there were thunders and lightnings, and a 
thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the 
trumpet exceeding loud ; so that all the people that 
was in the camp trembled, and Mount Sinai was 
altogether in a smoke, because the Lord descended 
upon it in fire : and the smoke thereof ascended as 
the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked 
greatly."* 

Jebel Musa is the highest part of the Horeb range, 
excepting St. Katein, and I am still inclined to 
believe it to be the true Mount Sinai on which the 
law was delivered ; I am not willing to have the truth 
of these old traditions doubted, and their scenes 
transplanted. There is a poetry about old associa- 
tions which will not bear dislocation, and a prejudice 
in favour of occupation, which requires strong evidence 
to make me give a verdict in favour of the new 
claimant. I do not think that there is sufficient 
reason to dispute so long and firmly established a 
tradition; for it appeared to me that there was enough 
room in the valley beneath and the entrance of the 
wady which diverges from it, to accommodate the large 
numbers who were witnesses of the delivery of the 
law ; and I have since heard from those who actually 

* Exod. xix. 16. 18. 



PLAIN OF EL RAHAH. 



143 



measured the level space at the base, and in sight of 
Jebel Musa, that the area is greater than that which 
El Rahah would afford. 

Descending as far as the solitary cypress, I left my 
companions to prosecute their descent ; and, accom- 
panied by an Arab boy as guide, turned to the left 
and pursued a scrambling slippery path to the base of 
Es Safsafeh. The ascent I found very difficult. I 
first, with great labour, climbed up the smooth and 
slippery side of an almost perpendicular rock, and 
then found that my boy had misled me, and I was 
obliged to slide down as well as I could. A second 
attempt in another direction was more fortunate, and 
after a long and perilous ascent, hands and knees 
being in great requisition, I at length got on to an 
easier part, and without accident reached the summit, 
where I was well repaid for my labours. It overlooks 
the pretty little plain of El Rahah, at the entrance of 
which it stands as a watch-tower, and gives a com- 
manding view of the abrupt mountains which shut it 
in, and the entrance of the defile, with the towering 
heights of J ebel Serbal in the direction by which we 
had arrived. 

On the morning of March the 29th our camels 
were, according to order, at the convent soon after 
sunrise; but, with the usual delays incident to a 
party starting on a journey, it was ten o'clock be- 
fore we got our baggage and ourselves let down 
from the convent door. We had taken thirteen ca- 
mels from Cairo, but had all along suspected that 
the Bedouins had made use of them for bringing a 
great quantity of corn for themselves and families. 



144 



WADY EL SAL. 



Basharah, however, had promised that we should 
leave Mount Sinai with only twelve, but, I believe, 
was unable to fulfil his promise, as his tribe looked 
upon us as victims, from whom they were all to 
get something ; instead, therefore, of twelve, we 
found nearly twenty camels ready to carry ourselves 
and our baggage. One took a couple of carpet-bags, 
another a couple of small water-skins, and in spite of 
all Basharah's vociferations, the Bedouins insisted on 
pressing into our service their half-laden camels. The 
din of voices usual to Arab contention was excessive, 
whilst each endeavoured to force his animal upon 
us. Nothing was gained : and, thinking it probable 
that unless we seemed to consent we should not leave 
the convent the whole day, we determined on start- 
ing, and, when fairly off, stopping the camels, loading 
them properly, and rejecting the superfluous. This 
we did in about a quarter of an hour after leaving the 
convent ; and, after an angry discussion, started with 
the number originally agreed on. 

Soon after leaving the convent we turned to our 
right hand, by Wady Esh Sheikh, and passed be- 
tween the lofty hills of El Fareih on the left, and the 
mountains of the cross on the right. Keeping our 
course up the wady, we passed the mouth of several 
smaller valleys, and in about two hours we came to a 
rocky pass of an hour's length, which brought us to 
an open plain. This we crossed in about forty mi- 
nutes, and entering the narrow cleft in the dark El 
Fera, we followed during the rest of the day the 
deep Wady El Sal, bounded on each side by preci- 
pitous rocks, two hundred feet high. We kept 



STORM AT NIGHT. 145 

along this valley, which presented at times the wildest 
views, until about five p. m. when we encamped on 
its western side. We had great difficulty in pitching 
our tent, owing to the excessive violence of the wind, 
and during the night we were often under consider- 
able alarm lest we should be unhoused. As it hap- 
pened, however, we weathered the storm with the 
only inconvenience of the sand being driven in great 
quantities into the interior of the tent, and even into 
our very beds. We kept our course on the following 
day down Wady El Sal, and soon after the termination 
of the precipitous rocks, crossed over some low sand- 
hills on our left hand. We continued our way over 
a frightfully desolate plain strewed with dark flints 
and other stones, whilst the high rocks on each side 
were broken into every conceivable form, and exhi- 
bited the fantastic shapes of towers, castles, and 
walls. On some of the rocks we observed inscrip- 
tions, and figures of animals. Pursuing our course, 
which was very difficult to find amidst these vast in- 
sulated masses of rock, the wind having obliterated 
all traces of a path, we passed the mouths of several 
wadys, and turning to our right between lofty rocks 
of bare sandstone, we bore a little to the west, and 
pitched our tent under a line of mountains, with the 
ridges of desolate hills between us and the sea, and 
the more distant peaks of Midian on the opposite 
side. 

Basharah came to us in the evening, to ask us 
to pursue our journey during the night as he was 
rather afraid of the Arab Muzeins, in whose territo- 
ries we then were. On leaving the scene of our en- 

H 



146 



WADY EL A IN. 



campment in the morning, we passed for a couple of 
hours amongst sandhills, where it was difficult to 
discover any path. We then entered Wady Ghuza- 
leh, a narrow wady, with perpendicular walls of sand- 
stone on each side, down which we kept our course 
for two or three hours, passing afterwards over an 
open space whence two or three wadys diverge, and 
entering in the same direction Wady El Ain. In 
this wady we found water about one p. m., and while 
our Arabs were employed in filling our skins, we sat 
down to take our lunch. Whilst thus engaged, a 
miserable Bedouin woman appeared before us, and 
begged a morsel. She was, indeed, a wretched spe- 
cimen of humanity, and we shared our meal with her. 
As we advanced down the wady we found a greater 
number of tulk-trees than are commonly seen, and 
towards its end we passed a stream of running water 
still flowing across the wady, while two or three 
pretty little birds were hopping about the edge and 
enjoying the cool stream. 

After travelling through Wady El Ain we ap- 
proached the sea-coast, in a narrow valley, planted 
more or less with the tulk-tree, with the granite 
mountains rising from three to five hundred feet on 
both sides of us. I never beheld so fine a natural 
defile. The sides rose often so abruptly as to ap- 
pear like walls, and when they receded a little, it 
was only to give you a view of the mountains be- 
hind, still more vast and precipitous. In many parts 
the valley was so narrow that it might have been 
shut by a door, whilst at other times it expanded 
a little, where some branch wady struck off, and 



SHORES OF THE RED SEA. 



147 



gave you a view of the vast masses of bare and 
scattered limestone and granite, amongst which 
you were travelling. I feel how feebly I can de- 
scribe this splendid scenery, so unlike anything to 
be met with in other parts. Emerging on the sea- 
coast about four and a half p. m. we journeyed on 
for about an hour, and then pitched our tents on 
the shores of the Red Sea, with its bright waters 
before us. The bare and desert mountains of the 
Midianites ; the desolation of the mountainous ridges 
on either side of the transparent gulf, and the still- 
ness of the scene, scarcely broken by the faint rip- 
ple of the glassy wave, formed a striking contrast 
to the green and cultivated shores of Old England. 

We continued travelling in a north-easterly direc- 
tion for two or three days, with a broken range of 
sandstone rocks, and the rugged peaks of the desert 
mountains bounding our view. On turning into a 
narrow wady in order to avoid a difficult and dan- 
gerous road round a projecting point, we met some 
camels of the preceding party on their return. From 
their drivers we learnt that the gentlemen were still at 
Akabah, and would not start until the next day. This 
put us in good spirits, and S — and T — immediately 
went on in advance of the luggage, to make arrange- 
ments that we should accompany them. The ascent 
along the narrow path was slippery and dangerous, 
and the descent no less so ; but at last we turned up 
a wady to the right, and followed the sea-shore. I 
here took the start of the loaded camels, and soon 
found myself opposite to the ruined Saracenic castle 
on the island, and could just distinguish the line 

H 2 



148 



AKABAH. 



of date-trees round the governor's house at Akabah. 
It was, however, past three p. m. before I reached 
it, as I was obliged to skirt the whole head of the 
bay. The last part of the road, and all the village of 
Akabah, was filled with the carcases of camels and 
horses which had died during the march of the late 
Haj. The Haj had passed through, on its return 
from Mecca, the very morning on which we entered 
Akabah, but we had missed it, as on leaving Aka- 
bah, instead of turning round the head of the gulf, 
it takes the straight road to Suez and Egypt. Long 
before I arrived at Akabah, I could distinguish the 
white and green tents of our English friends on 
the coast, beyond the castle and palm-trees ; and 
on coming up to them was not a little gratified by 
the cordial welcome they gave us. The meeting of 
one's countrymen in foreign lands, is not seldom 
the foundation of lasting friendships, and there were 
many of the party I hope not to lose sight of. 

We learnt from them that they had arrived three 
days before us, but owing to the deceit and lies of the 
governor of Akabah, were still detained, though there 
was now some prospect of their getting off. The case 
was this : a sheikh named Hassein, had for some 
time been in the habit of conveying Frank travel- 
lers across this part of the desert, subject to the El 
Alouin tribes, but he was now absent, having gone 
to Hebron with a previous party, who had been 
obliged to wait at Akabah ten days while he was 
sent for, and camels procured. The governor, how- 
ever, pretended that Hassein was at his home two 
days oif and said he would send for him directly 



CONDUCT OF THE GOVERNOR. 



149 



if the gentlemen would give him fifteen dollars. It 
so happened that at the time the second party ar- 
rived, some sheikhs of the El Alouin were at Aka- 
bah to furnish camels for the Haj, on their return 
from Mecca. Mustapha, the dragoman of one of 
our party, met these sheikhs at the governor's, and, 
talking Turkish, which the Arabs did not under- 
stand, said to him, " These sheikhs cannot con- 
vey travellers : Hassein only is powerful enough to 
do so." The governor said " No, they cannot." 
Mustapha then, in Arabic, which the governor was 
not acquainted with, immediately addressed the 
Arab sheikhs, who were present, and said : " The 
governor says you are not powerful enough to carry 
travellers through the desert Upon which they 
said, " Who dares say we are not able to do so, 
and that we are not so powerful as Hassein. We 
are of more power than he is, and we are willing 
and able to convey these travellers." Here then 
was the governor caught in telling a lie, as he wish- 
ed to pocket the fifteen dollars, well knowing that 
Hassein was not near enough for him to be sent 
for, and desirous of keeping us at Akabah, whilst 
we lived upon the provisions which he furnished 
at an enormous price. Arrangements were, there- 
fore, made for striking a bargain with Sheikhs Salame 
and Abou Reschedi, whose camels, thirty-four in 
number, had not been wanted for the Haj, and 
who, of course, were willing to go out of their way 
a little, for the handsome presents they would re- 
ceive, their residence being at Kerek, to the south 
of the Dead Sea. At first, however, they asked 



150 



EXORBITANT CHARGES. 



an enormous price, ten dollars, for each camel, to 
Hebron, and eight guards at ten dollars for each 
gentleman. This was a price too exorbitant to 
listen to ; and thus stood matters when we ar- 
rived. 



SHEIKH SALAME. 



151 



CHAPTEE VI. 

Bargain with the El Alouin. — Departure from Akabah. — Petra. — 
Wady Arabah. — Hebron. — Bethlehem. 

Akabah is the same as the Eziongeber of Scripture, 
and the Ailah or Elath of late years. It was once a 
considerable port for the merchandise of India and 
Africa, but now it consists only of the governor's 
house and a few miserable mud cottages. It is, like 
Suez, surrounded by desert on all sides, and, with the 
exception of the palm-trees around the governor s 
house, there is no vegetation near it. I was not sorry 
for a day's rest after the great fatigue of camel-riding. 
About ten in the morning I was called out to see the 
sheikhs coming. They were two in number. Sheikh 
Salame, who seemed about forty years of age, a little 
dark determined fellow, was a perfect study. He 
wore on his head a handsome shawl as a turban, and 
over it the kesia or yellow handkerchief, which hung 
down over his shoulders, and was confined by a skein 
of camel's wool round his head. His red robe was 
fastened round his waist by a leather girdle, in which 
his pistols were placed, and over it he wore another 
bright red silk loose gown. This, with the addition 
of huge red boots up to his knees, a sword nearly as 
big as himself, and a pipe in his hand, completed the 



152 



THE CONFERENCE- 



costume of Sheikh Salame, the very beau ideal of an 
Ishmaelite. Sheik Abou Reschedi, his companion, 
was a much younger man. His costume was very 
similar to that of Salame, except that he wore a 
black abbas ; and, though one of the most powerful 
sheikhs, he seemed to consider shoes quite a super- 
fluity, coming to our tent with bare feet. 

These sheikhs were accompanied by the governor, 
and, having entered our tent, coffee was served, and 
the conference began. Deliberations were commenced 
about as gravely as if the allied powers were debating 
with the Divan, whether Constantinople should not 
be immediately surrendered to the Russians, Pro- 
positions were made: an occasional "tyeb" an- 
nounced that they were acceded to. Soon, however, 
the voices became more energetic, the action was 
suited to the word, the consolatory "tyeb" was no 
longer heard, but a volley of harsh guttural words ; 
and through the cloud of smoke with which the tent 
was filled, I could see the Dukes of Edom, Sheikh 
Salame, and Abou Reschedi had departed. Sheikh 
Salame had been the chief speaker ; and the gist of 
the matter was that he would not take us to Hebron 
for less than ten dollars a camel, and 5300 piasters 
(about 601.) as bucksheesh for conducting the party, 
now increased to twelve. Declaring this as his ulti- 
matum, he had flung himself out of the tent, and, 
followed by his friends, finished the conference. 

It being Sunday, we had service in the white tent, 
and in the evening a message was sent from the 
governor to say that the sheikhs would go without 
us, if we were not willing to make the bargain. On 



STARTING. 



153 



this, a deputation went down from each tent, S — 

acting as our ambassador. He returned about ten at 

night, having concluded the bargain on the terms 

which the sheikh had offered in the morning. There 

was a doubt whether the number of camels would be 

sufficient, which proved fortunately to be the case : if 

we found it to be otherwise, it was arranged that 

nine of the party were to start with the camels, and 

that others being sent for, we were to follow as soon 

as they arrived. Abou Reschedi excused himself from 

accompanying us, since, having unfortunately killed a 

man in Wady Mousa, his presence would only expose 

the party to considerable danger. Though it was 

settled that we should be off before midday, it was 

late in the afternoon before all the luggage was 

packed and all was ready for starting. Just as we 

were on the point of leaving, a party of three, who 

had arrived at Mount Sinai on the morning we left 

it, were seen coming round. It was impossible to 

find camels, as we had only just enough for our 

own party ; but it was arranged that some should be 

sent for. At length we started, and such a start we 

made as was never seen before. The camels had not 

been accustomed to carry burdens, and the loads w r ere 

ill-secured. Some of the animals, finding a weight 

on their backs, to which they were not accustomed, 

commenced kicking, and many of them succeeded in 

dislodging their burdens. Beds, chests, crockery, and 

kitchen utensils, were soon rolling about in delightful 

confusion on the sand. Under such circumstances we 

could not of course proceed far. We crossed the 

halting-place of the Haj on the previous night, which 

H 5 



154 



WADY ARAB AH. 



was marked by dead camels and horses ; and having 
got about three miles up Wady Arabah, we halted 
for the night, our tents commanding a beautiful view 
of the bright gulf, tranquilly embosomed in its lofty 
chains of arid limestone mountains, until the deep 
blue of the sea faded away in the distant azure tints 
of the cloudless horizon. 

At night there was a complaint made to the sheikh 
that men and camels were deficient, and also that, in 
consequence of his not having sufficient rope, the bag- 
gage had fallen. He sent down to Akabah for rope 
and some other camels, and promised us that at 
Wady Mousa we should have more men, who, how- 
ever, were never forthcoming, and the eight guards 
which he represented as so necessary for our safety, 
were eventually comprehended in about half-a-dozen 
poor camel-drivers. We started at eight in the 
morning, and kept our course on the eastern side of 
the Arabah, a vast plain bounded by ridges of moun- 
tains, which extends from the Red Sea to the Dead 
Sea, and was formerly the channel of communication 
for the treasures of the East. It was the most un- 
interesting part of the desert I had yet traversed, as 
our view was entirely hemmed in by the ridges of 
mountains on our right and left. On the eastern side 
of this wady we entered a range of low sandhills 
w r hich run- across it. Here we found some water left 
by the rain, near which some palm-trees were grow- 
ing. We filled our skins and watered our camels, 
and continuing our route over an immense surface of 
sandhills, pitched for the night. In the morning we 
found it more difficult than usual to start, our party 



ROAD TO WADY MOUSA. 



155 



having increased since leaving Akabah. At the point 
where a low ridge divides the Great Wady from the 
broken sandhills in the direction of Mount Hor, we 
turned to the east over some rising ground strewed 
with flints and other stones. On gaining the top, 
Mount Hor with its white tomb first came in sight. 
Bearing north-east, and continuing much in that 
direction, after passing the entrances of many wadys, 
we at length turned into Wady Addone, at the bot- 
tom of which, under some sandstone rocks, we en- 
camped. Some of us here mounted a steep crag at 
the side of our route, to visit a watch-tower or look- 
out place, curiously formed in the perforated rock. 

Starting at the usual time, we took a northerly 
direction across a desolate level for about an hour, 
when we turned into a ravine with shrubs and some 
few wild flowers. This took us about forty minutes, 
and brought us to the foot of a steep hill, over which 
lay the road to Wady Mousa. We here dismounted, 
and, our camels following the circuitous and more 
easy ascent, we took the steeper and more direct road 
over the top. I found the heat most oppressive, and 
the walking, particularly towards the summit, very 
difficult, owing to the steepness and slippery state of 
the rocks. Wild flowers were growing in great abun- 
dance, so as to give the idea of the approach to some 
cultivated land. Descending about noon, we found 
our camels waiting at the bottom, and continuing the 
descent, in about an hour we entered the valley of 
Wady Mousa from the south-west, and came in sight 
of the first tomb. As we advanced we passed them 
in greater numbers, and observed at our right hand a 



156 



PETRA. 



broken column. At length, as we turned a corner, 
the most remarkable part of the valley broke upon us 
with a striking line of tombs as far as the eye could 
reach. We pitched our tent on a level plot of ground 
in the very centre of the city, and a few hundred 
yards from the remains of the triumphal arch and 
castle, and commanding a fine view of these most 
remarkable antiquities. It was at the confluence of 
the valleys which lead to the theatre, Syk, Khuznee, 
and Deir. 

I think we were all pretty nearly tired out ; not 
one made any attempt to walk up the wady, though 
as yet we were free to do so, the Sheikh of Wady 
Mousa not having yet heard of our arrival. We con- 
tented ourselves, however, with a walk of a few paces 
to inspect the masonry on each side of the water- 
course at our feet, the ruins of aqueducts, broken 
pieces of pillars and foundations, the only traces of 
building which Petra can now boast, and small indeed 
compared with the extent attributed to the ancient 
capital and to the extent of the line of tombs. By 
the morning it was discovered that a Frank party 
had arrived, and a party of Arabs, about fifteen in 
number, came to our tents demanding a hundred 
piasters from each for a sight of Petra. We said 
that we could not think of giving so much, but that 
we should- not object to give twenty-five piasters. 
There was a long parley on the subject, and I thought 
matters would be settled, and had walked on with a 
friend to visit the interior of the Corinthian tomb, 
when, on looking back, I found that no one followed 
but two Arabs, who had come, I suppose, for the 



I STREET OF THE TOMBS, 



157 



purpose of making some bargain with us. We re- 
turned, and found that no terms had been come to, 
and as it was not safe, without an agreement, to leave 
our tents, we all waited at home to see the event. 
During the whole day, the Arabs, who had pitched 
near us, were talking loud, and finding in the end that 
we were not inclined to give in, they came to our 
tents and said that they were willing to accept the 
original offer. They all had fire-arms and acted as 
our escort. We also took our guns ; but neither on 
this or any other occasion did we find any reason to 
distrust the word of an Arab. We followed our 
guide through the street of the tombs, excavated in 
the red sandstone rock on either side ; those which 
were not mere holes in the rock and had any pretence 
to be called tombs, having entrances ornamented in a 
debased style of Egypto-Roman architecture. The 
form of the doorway was that of a truncated cone, 
having a solid plain moulding running round them, 
similar to those I had witnessed on the buildings of 
Egypt. In these tombs there is little beauty : ex- 
posure to the weather has injured the finer parts in 
many places, and the style is heavy ; but the sin- 
gularity of their position, their size, the whole line of 
sandstone, often three hundred feet in height, cut into 
tombs, which are now left solitary and tenantless in 
the vast desert, gives them an interest to which few 
other remains of antiquity can lay claim. When cut, 
and for whom, history does not mention, and it is 
only by studying their architecture that we can know 
the probable age of their construction. 

Passing beyond the tombs, we came to the theatre 



158 



THE KHUZNEE. 



on our right, cut like the tombs in the solid rock 
in a semicircular form, and having about seventeen 
rows of seats, with galleries cut in the rock above it. 
Over the watercourse at its side a very strong arch 
has been turned, which is still remaining. Following 
down this valley, which by degrees contracted itself, 
and was beautifully sprinkled with oleander and other 
shrubs and flowers, we came on a sudden where the 
Syk turns off, to the celebrated Khuznee or Treasury. 
From a vase which is at the top of it, it is supposed 
to contain money, and the Arabs always fire at it, in 
the hopes of obtaining the treasure concealed inside. 
The Khuznee may be overloaded with ornament, and 
its style is certainly late Roman, but yet there is a 
great deal of Egyptian character about the door-way, 
both in their shape and mouldings, and a symmetry and 
elegance which cannot fail to please. Indeed, were 
you to meet with such a facade in the centre of one of 
our finest cities, you would be struck with its beauty; 
how wonderfully, then, must the impression be heigh- 
tened, when you come upon this splendid front 
adorned with capitals, in which grapes, vine-leaves, 
and acanthus-leaves are cut in a most delicate and 
elegant manner, with the roseate hue of the stone 
adding greatly to its beauty, in the very midst of the 
wildest and most desolate scenes that can be imagined. 
Contrasted with the savage wilderness around, it ap- 
pears like some fairy creation placed there to show its 
elegant proportions and laboured workmanship more 
clearly from the contrast presented by the objects 
around. 

Immediately opposite to the Khuznee is the mouth of 



EL SYK. 



159 



a narrow ravine or deep cleft in the rock, which is 
called El Syk. It was the principal entrance to the 
city from this side, and, no doubt, formed a strong 
defence, from its extreme narrowness. The bottom of 
the ravine, which is composed of the same kind of red 
sandstone as the rocks above, is marked by the traces 
of chariot -wheels, which, in many cases, are several 
inches deep. Our Arab guides were at first not dis- 
posed to let us proceed along the Syk, but we paid 
no attention to their remonstrances, and entering this 
singular opening, followed what appeared like the 
dry bed of a torrent. I never saw so romantic a de- 
file, varying in width from ten to twenty-five feet. 
We pushed our way through the oleanders and wild 
fig-trees which grew most luxuriantly along our path, 
whilst the plants which were growing in the crevices 
of the rocks and hung down over our heads, almost 
excluded the light of day. The height of the rocks 
was, probably, from one to three hundred feet, in 
some places perhaps even more. We followed this 
delightful route for about a mile, when, after having 
passed under an arch thrown across the defile, we 
emerged from it, and leaving the red sandstone, 
came out upon a chalk and light-coloured range, run- 
ning north and south for some distance, and present- 
ing much the appearance of downs. At this, the 
eastern, entrance of the Syk there is a sprinkling of 
shrubs, and the foundations of large and extensive 
buildings are to be seen, as well as a number of tombs 
or niches cut in the rock. At the end of it is the 
Necropolis, in which are a number of tombs different in 
character from anything I had seen ; several of them 



160 



RIGHT OF GUIDING FRANKS. 



were of pyramidieal shape, but possessed no archi- 
tectural beauty. Many of our party had not ven- 
tured to the end of the Syk, and our Arab guides 
were now most strenuous in opposing such as were 
desirous of proceeding further. They signified to us 
that we must retrace our steps to avoid interruption 
by the Arabs, who were in possession of the water, 
and pasturing their flocks. To this we readily as- 
sented, considering it most advisable to do so, though 
the true reason of the conduct of the Arabs was, I 
believe, that they feared that the Fellabeen, or inha- 
bitants of Wady Mousa, whose village was not far 
distant, would come to us in great numbers and 
claim a portion of the " bucksheesh," to which they 
considered themselves alone entitled. 

On returning to our tents we were, indeed, met 
by another party of Arabs claiming to have the pri- 
vilege of escorting the Franks. Their anger seemed 
principally directed against those who had previously 
acted as our guides, for they followed them to their 
resting place, about twenty yards from our tents, 
and then commenced quarrelling and wrangling with 
the usual Arab vociferation and noise the whole even- 
ing. They succeeded in settling their dispute, and 
by the morning were quite silent. It was Sunday, 
and we had service in the white tent, being much 
oppressed by the heat, which was intense. After- 
wards, with some of the Arabs as guards, we set out 
for the Deir, the second great curiosity of Petra. 
We followed the course of the bed of the brook which 
ran under our encampment, and passed through the 
remains of the triumphal arch, the ruins of the castle 



THE DEIR. 



161 



being on our left. We then continued our course 
to the right hand, and mounting an elevated plat- 
form of rock, turned to the left through a narrow de- 
file in the rock. W e could often trace the remains 
of steps, which formed the road to the temple at the 
top. After occasionally mounting by these steps, or 
ascending, as we best could, over the broken pieces 
of rock for about an hour, we reached the little green 
nook, in which the Deir is situated. The design of 
the facade is much the same as that of the Khuznee, 
though in a much plainer and heavier style. There 
is quite a green carpet round it, and wild sage and 
thyme, camomile, wild fig-trees, oleander, and juni- 
per-trees, were growing in its neighbourhood. Some 
modest little forget-me-nots, struck me more than all 
the pretty little flowers in such a spot. There was, 
indeed, a charm and reality in their name : and how 
many a familiar scene did they recall ! Why so much 
pains should have been taken, to carve the face of the 
rock in so elaborate a manner in such a retired situa- 
tion, is a secret we are not likely to know. The in- 
terior, consisting of a single chamber, is no better than 
that of Khuznee. 

Returning to our tents we found that the old 
Sheikh Abou Zeitun^ had at last arrived in propria 

* Mr. Legh, it appears, was not so well treated by this sheikh, 
as we were. " On the 23rd of May," he says, " the sheikh of 
Shubac, Mahomet Ebn-Raschid, arrived, and with him also came 
the Sheikh Abou Zeitun (father of the olive tree) the governor of 
Wady Mousa. The latter proved afterwards our most formidable 
enemy, and we were indebted to the courage and unyielding 
spirit of the former for the accomplishment of our journey, and 



162 



ATTEMPT AT EXTORTION. 



persona, and wanted a hundred piasters from each of 
us. As we had seen all we wished, and paid all that 
we intended, we, of course, refused the demand ; 
upon which he threatened to send to the English 
Consul and complain of us. This was not a very 
bold threat for one of the Dukes of Edom, and, I 
believe, we rather disconcerted him by symptoms of 
merriment at such a mode of extorting money from 
us. In the morning, before the tents were ready, I 
took a solitary walk down to the Khuznee. It was 
a lovely day, and the birds were singing merrily as 
they hopped about among the oleanders and fig-trees, 
and evergreen shrubs. What a singular place was 
this for building a theatre, looking directly on a 
whole street of tombs. What an incongruity in 

the sight of the wonders of Petra. When we related to the two 
sheikhs, who had just entered the camp, our eager desire to be 
permitted to proceed, Abou Zeitun swore, by the beard of the 
Prophet, and by the Creator, that the CafFrees, or infidels, should 
not come into his country." 

Mahomed Ebn-Raschid as warmly supported them, and " now 
there arose a great dispute between the two sheikhs, in the tent, 
which assumed a serious aspect* The sheikh of Wady Mousa at 
length starting up, vowed that if we should dare to pass through 
his lands we should be shot like so many dogs. Our friend 
Mahomet mounted, and desired us to follow his example, which 
when he saw we had done, he grasped his spear, and fiercely ex- 
claimed, c I have set them on their horses, let me see who dare 
stop Ebn-Raschid.' We rode along a valley, the people of Wady 
Mousa with their sheikh at their head, continuing on the high 
ground to the left, in a parallel direction, watching our move- 
ments. In half an hour we halted at a spring, and were joined 
by about twenty horsemen provided with lances, and thirty men 
on foot with matchlock guns, and a few double mounted drome- 
daries, whose riders were well armed. On the arrival of this 



THE KHUZNEE. 



163 



disturbing the silence of the sepulchral vault, and the 
lamentations of mourners by the gaiety and merriment 
of the stage. The scene is so wild that you can 
scarcely realize the appropriate costume and measured 
diction of the Getse, and Davi, and Pamphylse, with 
the fastidious and discriminating audience of a civi- 
lized nation. You feel that wild Bedouins with 
their tents and camels or birds of prey are much 
fitter dramatis persona, and that savage rocks and 
wild and overgrown thickets, are a much more appro- 
priate audience. The Khuznee looked more lovely 
than ever with its delicate tints and deep carving 
glittering in the morning sun. But how are all the 
mighty fallen ! how is all this changed since such a 
a building in former times was in accordance with 
every thing around it ! * 

reinforcement, the chief, Ebn-Raschid, took an oath in the pre- 
sence of his Arabs, swearing, c By the honour of their women, 
and by the beard of the Prophet, that we,' pointing to our party, 
1 should drink of the waters of Wady Mousa, and go wherever 
we pleased in their accursed country.' 

" Soon after leaving the ravine, the rugged peak of Mount 
Hor was seen towering over the dark mountains on their right, 
with Petra under it, and Gebeltour, or Mount Sinai, distant 
three days' journey, like a cone in the horizon. They reached 
Ebn-Raschid's camp of about seventy tents (usually twenty-five 
feet long, and fourteen feet wide) in three circles, and next morn- 
ing, attempted, but in vain, to obtain the consent of the hostile 
sheikh to pass through his territory. They did not, however, 
come to blows, and at length they passed the much contested 
stream on which stood the mud village of Wady Mousa : Ebn- 
Raschid, with an air of triumph, insisting on watering the horses 
at that rivulet," — Legits Travels in Egypt. 

* See Appendix, F. 



164 



ANECDOTE. 



Before leaving the Khuznee I added my name to 
the list of travellers from all countries, which are 
inscribed within. A curious anecdote was after- 
wards told me by a friend at Jerusalem. On leav- 
ing Petra, we had written up the names of our 
party, and the low " bucksheesh" which we had 
paid, as an inducement to friends who might follow 
us, to withstand the extortions of old Abou Zeitun. 
On arriving at the same place of encampment, a 
party of our friends were asked one hundred pias- 
ters by the old sheikh, but they opposed the de- 
mand, saying " we will pay no more than twenty- 
five piasters." The sheikh replied, C£ Why, every 
Frank pays one hundred piasters." " Oh ! no," 
said our friends, " twenty-five piasters is the re- 
gular payment, which those who have preceded us 
have paid." " No," said the sheikh, " they all 
paid one hundred piasters." " But there is their 
handwriting on the wall," said the other, unguard- 
edly. " They have left us word that they paid 
only twenty-five piasters." This appeal to the litem 
scripta availed not, for they were compelled to pay 
the full " bucksheesh," and old Abou sent imme- 
diately one of his men to erase the obnoxious 
inscription from the rock, I hope those at the 
Khuznee will not share the same fate. 

When we were just ready to start, there was no 
little demur on the part of the men, who had agreed 
to go with us as an escort to the summit of Mount 
Hor. We had paid into Salame's hands the sum we 
had arranged to give at Wady Mousa, and we told 
our sheikh that we intended to enforce, most strictly, 



aaron's tomb. 



165 



the terms of the agreement. " The better part of 
valour is discretion," in all situations, and nowhere 
is this more applicable than in the middle of the de- 
sert, where you are wholly, or nearly, at the mercy 
of roving Bedouins. So, finding that we were likely 
to incur some unpopularity by a too rigid adherence 
to the letter of the law, and fearing we should never 
be allowed to ascend Mount Hor, with a well-timed 
generosity we agreed to give every guide, who as- 
cended with us, a small gratuity, and thus retrieved 
our character. We left Wady Mousa by the same 
route by which we had entered, keeping, however, 
soon a little more to the north, instead of taking the 
path to the south-west, by which we had entered. 
The tombs continue in the face of the rocks, until 
the termination of the wady, when a deep and nar- 
row ravine separates Mount Hor from the continuous 
range which so completely skirts in Petra. The slopes 
and roots of the hills were terraced in the same way 
for the cultivation of trees, even to the rising ground, 
at the base of Mount Hor. Having at length arrived 
at the bottom of the mount, the tents were pitched in 
the Wady Haroun, whilst nine out of the twelve of our 
party commenced the ascent, the whole time occupied 
in arriving at the summit not exceeding an hour. 
At the top is the white tomb, which had been so 
conspicuous an object on leaving Wady Arabah. It 
is surmounted by a dome, measures thirty-four feet 
by twenty-eight, and is supported by square pillars, 
and three arches. It is decorated with lamps of 
ostrich eggs and festoons of cloths of different co- 
lours. At one end of the building is a white sar- 



166 



THE ARABAH. 



cophagus, three feet and a half by five, which is 
covered with old palls of white and green linen, in 
a very dilapidated state. At the further corner 
is a small aperture, whence, by means of a few steps, 
a descent is made to a cave, in which the bones of the 
great high priest are said to be laid, Numb. xx. 28. 
Deut. x. 6. The view from this point was very fine, 
but most awfully desolate and barren. We remained 
here about an hour, the Arabs being very jealous at 
our lengthened stay, and then descending on the north 
side of the mount, wound round to our tent. 

We pitched in a small level space in Wady Ha- 
roun, and in the morning followed the track which 
soon brought us to the top of the hill which had 
bounded our view on the day before. From thence 
is a most magnificent view of the jagged and sharp 
peaks of the desolate ranges which guard the ap- 
proach to Petra, and on the south side toward the 
west, were the comparatively low range of hills 
which bounded the Arab ah on the west. Immedi- 
ately below us was tier after tier of barren hills, 
until they at last sunk in ridges into the sandy plain. 
With the exception of that from Mount Sinai, it 
is the finest view that I saw in the desert. The 
toilsome and dangerous ascent occupied us nearly 
four hours, and it was not until noon that we had 
descended into the Arabah. Our course, then, took 
a north-westerly direction amongst sandhills, and 
we at last pitched our tent in the Arabah itself. 
It required some little effort to realize this as the 
grand route from the land of Ophir to Tyre and 
Jerusalem, though, perhaps, the " Queen of the 



GAZELLES. 



167 



South," with all her splendour and magnificence, 
may have pitched here on her way to hear the 
wisdom of Solomon. 

We left the scene of our encampment on the first 
cloudy day that I had seen in the desert. About 
noon we arrived at the water which Dr. Robinson 
considers to be Kadesh, although without much rea- 
son ; for, I believe, the true Kadesh has been dis- 
covered in a much more probable situation, not far 
from Gaza. The water had a strong sulphury taste, 
and, for the most part, was very unpalatable. We 
had now crossed the Arabah, and shaped our course 
more to the north. The sun at length began to 
shine upon us, and we wound among the sandhills, 
with scarcely a breath of air to refresh us, the heat 
being so intense that the thermometer on the shady 
side of the camel, stood at ninety-eight. In the after- 
noon we saw three gazelles tripping gaily about, but 
they w r ere too shy to permit us to approach them. 
Beautiful things they were as they frolicked about 
upon the desert. 

" Our sands are bare, but down their slope 
The silvery-footed antelope 
As gracefully and gaily springs, 
As o'er the marble courts of kings." 

On a former occasion we had not been contented 
with merely looking at them, for, in the neighbour- 
hood of Mount Sinai they had afforded us many a 
delightful repast. Now, however, we were not so 
fortunate, and were constrained to indulge a more 
poetic mood in witnessing their gambols, and ad- 
miring their dark black eyes. 



168 



EL SUFERY. 



Having spent the night in Wady Sheby with a 
fine view of El Ghor, down the valley which runs 
into it, we started early, and pursuing our course, 
after ascending and descending among desolate hills 
for three or four hours, we came to Wady Fickray, 
and then to the ascent of the pass El Sufery. 
Before commencing the ascent, a white hill is visi- 
ble at the right, under which, tradition asserts, that 
God destroyed a city for the crimes of its inhabit- 
ants. The road over the pass is extremely difficult 
and steep, and our loaded camels were long in gain- 
ing the summit. As we advanced we saw innumer- 
able skeletons of camels, besides those of many of 
the men who had fallen in the disastrous retreat of 
Suleyman Pasha with the Egyptian artillery in the 
year 1840. The difficulty of the ascent appears to 
be on the desert side, and I can hardly account 
for an army coming in the opposite direction, hav- 
ing lost so many men and camels. But who can 
tell the effect of such a perilous, a desolate march 
as was here in prospect, upon the already worn- 
out and fainting frame. After gaining the summit 
of this difficult and dangerous pass, we ascended 
into a narrow ravine, and keeping along it for some 
time, we turned to the left along a gorge of much 
the same character, having, however, a few trees in 
it, and a little grass. Following this for some dis- 
tance, we came out on an open flat, not unlike an 
English moor. The extreme desolation had now 
ceased, and signs of coarse vegetation were every- 
where apparent. After crossing this moor, which 
we did in about an hour and a half, we pitched 



HAZEZON-TAMAR. 



169 



at its further end, under some hills. We had heard 
that we should be enabled to find water here, but 
were sadly disappointed, when we discovered that 
the only two or three puddles which were in the place 
were in a most filthy state from the animals that had 
been watered there. Mustapha, the servant of one of 
our party, was found missing on our arriving at our 
encampment. The Sheikh Salame and two others 
were dispatched to seek him, and returned with him 
late at night. It appeared that he had lagged be- 
hind, and had taken the wrong turn on coming out 
of the ravine after passing El Sufery, but had been 
fortunate enough to find his way to an encamp- 
ment of Bedouins, who shared with him their pro- 
visions. 

Our encampment was evidently on the site of an 
ancient town. It was called by the Arabs Kour- 
noub, and, besides several other ruins up the ravine, 
to the north, we could distinguish terraces and the 
remains of masonry. The castle probably occupied 
the spot where we were encamped in order to com- 
mand one side of the ravine. On the other side, the 
remains are more numerous, including the ruins of a 
church, and some subterranean vaults. The place is 
conjectured to be the Thamar of Ezekiel, chap, xlvii. 
verse 19, and is the Hazezon-tamar mentioned in 
Genesis, chap. xiv. verse 7. We were glad to pro- 
cure a little milk from a few women who were en- 
camped with us. Starting about nine a. m. we took 
an easterly course along the base of the hills, to the 
south of which we had been encamped, and in about 
fifteen minutes, turned to the north through a gorge, 

i 



170 



THREATENED ENCOUNTER. 



which brought us out on a plain with more traces of 
vegetation than we had yet seen. On our left the 
ruins of Komoul were visible at the entrance of the 
ravine. We soon descended, and wound along the 
bottom of the valleys, in which long coarse grass was 
growing, and the hills, which hemmed us in, began to 
have the appearance of a down, the grass growing in 
tufts, on a sandy soil. In the course of the afternoon 
we arrived at Mohl, where we found two wells of 
marble, as also a drinking-trough, and other ruins, at 
which some Arabs were watering their flocks. Con- 
tinuing still along the same open plain, for about two 
hours, we at length encamped to the south-east of 
Jebel Khalil. 

Starting about half-past eight a.m. we kept a wind- 
ing course towards the north, amongst hills covered 
with coarse grass. We soon came in sight of the 
first field of corn; the land in the neighbourhood, 
which now produced only wild grass, bearing marks 
of having been formerly carefully terraced up for the 
purposes of cultivation. In about half an hour we 
came in sight of El Guwein, the ancient Ain, on our 
right, and soon after observed a movement among the 
Arabs who were encamped on the ruins. All of a 
sudden a man darted out on a white horse, having a 
mace in his hand. He rode towards us, and on 
coming up to the first camel, seized its bridle, or at- 
tempted to do so, whilst some few men, who were 
following him, attempted to stop the rest. The 
sheikh was a little way behind, and, coming up, we 
were requested to halt, which we did ; the Arabs, to 
the amount of nine or ten, standing by us. When, 



RUINS OF SEMAA. 



171 



however, the luggage camels came up, we all darted 
forward to accompany our baggage, some few staying 
behind with the sheikh, who was still holding an 
altercation with the man who carried the mace. Our 
sheikh soon after followed, accompanied by the in- 
truder, who was the only mounted one of the party, 
and who threatened to come with us to Hebron, if we 
would not give him " bucksheesh." At last I saw r 
Salame- give him two gold pieces, with which, being 
satisfied, he returned. It w r as wonderful to see the 
double-barrelled guns and pistols appear when first 
we were stopped, and we made, indeed, quite a for- 
midable appearance. It seems that they wanted us 
to give them money for passing through the territory 
of the Fellaheen of Hebron. 

In another hour we passed through the ruins of 
Semaa, which appear to have been inhabited at no 
great distance of time, and may still be so occasion- 
ally. I observed some doors ornamented with Sara- 
cenic devices, and saw some excavations in the rock. 
Trees of all sorts appeared to be growing around the 
place, which seemed to have been formerly much 
larger, the ruins extending a considerable way over 
the hill. Every turn now brought us amidst more 
signs of cultivation : considerable flocks of goats and 
sheep were feeding on the hills, whilst addis and corn 
were growing in the valleys. About two p. m. we en- 
tered a lovely dell, with patches of corn in its bottom, 
the sides being prettily wooded with dwarf oak and 
other shrubs, amongst which wild flowers were grow- 
ing luxuriantly. On arriving at the end of it we 
turned to the east, over some rugged high land, hav- 

i 2 



172 



HEBRON. 



ing a view of Yudda still more to the east, and de- 
scending by a very uneven path we came in sight of 
gardens, olive-trees, and vineyards. Then turning to 
the left, round a projecting point between stone walls, 
Hebron on a sudden came in view, with its pools, 
minarets, and tomb. Passing by the greater of the 
two pools, we soon came to a vacant green space, 
almost a continuation of the burying-ground, with 
grass which seemed doubly green, from the desert 
character of the scenery we had just left. It was a 
beautiful evening, and we had attracted round our 
tents a fair proportion of the inhabitants of the city. 
So pretty was the scene with the olive-yards around 
us, the city in the distance, and the cattle and camels 
feeding near our tents, the old people lounging and 
the young playing about, that I seemed really quite 
transported into some elysium. It put me forcibly 
in mind of some village green in old England. In 
the evening we had a long discussion as to whether 
or not a dress which we had promised, in case he 
gave us satisfaction, should be provided for Sheikh 
Salame. I supported the "yes" side, and carried it 
by one vote. I think he fully deserved it, and quite 
respect his memory ; he had faithfully and honestly 
fulfilled his engagement, and I wish him all the hap- 
piness a Bedouin can enjoy.* 

After service in the morning we all went into the 
town, which is quite second-rate, having its streets 
curiously vaulted over with solid arches. We called 
on the governor, who received us courteously, and 

* Our friend Salame was the son of the sheikh who escorted 
Irby and Mangles to visit the ruins of Petra in 1818. 



CAVE OF MACHPELAH. 



173 



attempted to make some interest in order that we 
might view the mosque, and tombs built over the sup- 
posed site of the cave of Machpelah. We were per- 
mitted merely to peep in at a hole in the wall, where 
the Jews are allowed to come and pray, but those 
must have stronger eyes than mine who could see 
anything. The building, a long, heavy erection, 
seems to be of Jewish construction. In a crypt 
under the mosque repose the bodies of the patriarchs, 
and carpets of considerable value are annually sent 
by the sultan to adorn their last resting place. I 
believe at present it is unsafe for a Frank to attempt 
visiting this mosque, that of Omer at J erusalem, and 
of Eyoub at Constantinople. Many attempts have 
been made, but the populace have all become so ex- 
asperated as to render it madness to persevere. We 
afterwards visited the Jewish Kabbi, a venerable old 
man, who received us kindly, and took us to see his 
synagogue, and the school in which some children 
were learning to read in the Old Testament, He 
told us that there were eighty houses of Jews, and 
that many had returned lately. They chiefly speak 
a mixed Spanish, being descendants of the Jews who 
were driven thence under Ferdinand and Isabella. 

Having, over-night, made arrangements with the 
sheikh for camels for our baggage, and horses for our- 
selves, we made preparations for leaving Hebron for 
Bethlehem by nine, a.m. We had unadvisedly paid 
for them beforehand, and the consequence was that 
we could not get the sheikh to furnish the required 
number of horses for which we bargained. At length, 
all having procured horses, we started, but had not 



174 



BETHLEHEM. 



proceeded far when we heard that our baggage had 
been detained, as the sheikh would not pay the men 
for the camels which he had hired of them. Two of 
our party returned, and the affair being settled, we at 
last fairly got off from Hebron. Our road continued 
for some time between the stone walls which are a 
fence to the vineyards, over one of the worst roads on 
which I ever travelled. It seemed to be a broken up 
Roman road. We here observed the watch-tower 
(see Isa. i. 8. Matt. xxi. S3.) in the vineyards, and 
after riding for four hours and a half more, through 
some very pretty dells, and occasionally diversifying 
our route by ascending the rugged hills, we arrived at 
Solomon's pools, three large reservoirs formed by that 
monarch for supplying J erusalem with water from a 
spring in the neighbourhood. They are of vast size ; 
and I tasted some of the water which was flowing 
through the aqueduct and found it excellent. There 
was, however, but little water in the reservoirs, so 
I suspect that the water must empty itself in some 
other direction. The aqueducts, also, between the 
reservoirs and Jerusalem, are broken up, and no 
longer answer the purpose for which they were in- 
tended ; J erusalem being ill-supplied with water, 
chiefly from the rain-water, which is collected in 
tanks. 

Another hour brought us to Bethlehem, which is 
situated on the crown of a hill, and is a very pretty 
object as you approach it. In the vale beneath, corn 
was growing, and the hills were covered with a pro- 
fusion of olive-trees. Winding through the miserable 
dirty streets and by the side of ruinous houses, we 



BETHLEHEM. 



175 



came at last to the convent, which is tenanted by 
Greeks, Latins, and Armenians. It is situated on the 
brow of a hill, and commands a fine view of the cul- 
tivated land in the vicinity, with a peep at the wil- 
derness of Judea towards the east. We found that 
the Latin portion of the community, which is accus- 
tomed to entertain strangers, had only one large 
room, and my fellow travellers seemed much more 
desirous to pitch in the open air, rather than expose 
themselves to the annoyances they might meet with in 
a convent. Our camels and mules were led through 
the city again, and then turning some distance to the 
left, entered a pretty orchard situated just above the 
road to Jerusalem. The view was most commanding, 
and overlooked the vale with its fine crops of corn, 
the olive and vine-clad hills, and the desert wilder- 
ness in the direction of the Dead Sea. It was pro- 
bable that we saw from our tents the very spot where 
the angel appeared to the wondering shepherds. I 
remained at the convent with some of the party, who 
had domiciled themselves there, until dark, and then, 
by the assistance of a boy, whom I picked up in the 
road, and who spoke Italian, got to the tents by din- 
ner time. 

On waking in the morning, I found that all the 
camels belonging to the next tent had gone off during 
the night, and also that my horse was not forth- 
coming. All this came from paying the rascal of a 
sheikh beforehand, who, no doubt, had paid the men 
for only one day, and pocketed the rest of the money. 
I do not think that any of us will ever commit this 
folly again. After seeing the interesting objects of 



176 



THE HOLY CITY. 



the convent, the great chapel, now an ante-chapel, 
with its rows of pillars, attributed to Queen Helena, 
as well as the various scenes connected with the 
Nativity, the manger, &e. we prepared to start for 
Jerusalem. One of my friends kindly lent me his 
horse ; new camels were hired by the party who 
had lost theirs, and a complaint was determined on 
immediately on our arrival at Jerusalem. In about 
three quarters of an hour we passed the tomb of 
Rachel, at which a number of Jews and Jewesses 
were awaiting the opening of the doors preparatory 
to their paying a visit, and soon after we again 
passed on our right the convent of Mar Elias. On 
ascending the hill just above, we caught the first 
glimpse of the Holy City. The view is decidedly 
not favourable, and I should think that on every 
other road the first sight of Jerusalem is better. 
Most of the principal objects, which are seen from 
all other points, are wanting in this view, such as 
the mosque with its numerous buildings, and the 
several convents and churches. Here, indeed, you 
see nothing but a long line of blank wall, with the 
tower of Hippicus rising out of it. Crossing the great 
plain in about an hour and a half, we wound our way 
by the side of the Valley of the Children of Hinnom, 
and the lower Pool of Guyon, and then found our- 
selves at the Bethlehem Gate of the Holy City. Here, 
however, just on arriving at our wished-for destina- 
tion, it seemed that we were to be disappointed. As 
we were about to enter the city with a long train of 
loaded camels, they plainly saw that we had come 
from a distance, and insisted on our not entering the 



A DANGER OF QUARANTINE. 



177 



city, but performing a quarantine. It was in vain 
that we said that there was no plague in Cairo when 
we left, and that we had been in the desert more than 
forty days. The Turks, as is their usual habit, would 
not listen to reason, and we had to wait full three 
hours, hot, dusty, and tired, on a naked piece of rising 
ground, until we were at length, after about a dozen 
representations and parleys with the physician, pasha, 
and consul, released from our unpleasant predicament. 
Where we should have passed quarantine, had they 
enforced it, I am at a loss to know, unless it be that 
they would have allowed us to encamp in some vacant 
place outside the city. I felt thankful indeed for my 
release, and ascertaining that my friends were going 
to the Latin convent, I found some one to shew me 
Dr. M — "s house. He was not at home, but after 
waiting for some few minutes he returned, and kindly 
found me accommodation in his house during the 
principal part of my stay in J erusalem. 



178 



HISTORICAL NOTICES 



CHAPTER VII. 

Jerusalem. — Jericho. — Greek Pilgrims. — Dead Sea. 

The situation and peculiar features of Jerusalem 
have been so often accurately described, that some 
apology is almost necessary for entering upon their 
relation. A slight sketch, however, will suffice. 
The first mention of the city is supposed to be con- 
nected with the history of Abraham, where we read 
that Melchisedek, king of Salem, came forth to meet 
the Patriarch on his return from the slaughter of the 
kings, and the opinion has been generally entertained 
that this " Salem" was the original name of one and 
the same city, afterwards called Jebus and Jerusalem. 
We know well that when the Israelites entered Ca- 
naan, they found the site of J erusalem in the posses- 
sion of the Jebusites, a tribe descended from Jebus, a 
son of Canaan, and bearing his name ; and it was not 
till after the death of Joshua, that the children of Ju- 
dah took the whole city of Jerusalem with the edge 
of the sword, except the fortress of Mount Zion. Of 
this stronghold the Jebusites retained possession un- 
til the eighth year of the reign of David, when that 
monarch having expelled them from Mount Zion, he 
transferred the seat of the monarchy from Hebron 
to the city of David, and made J erusalem the metro- 



OF JERUSALEM. 



179 



polis of his kingdom. At the defection of the ten 
tribes it remained the capital of the kingdom of Ju- 
dah, until it was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
Babylon, who destroyed it, and carried away the 
inhabitants. Seventy years after, permission was 
granted by Cyrus, who in the meantime had con- 
quered Assyria, to the Jews to rebuild their city, 
and Jerusalem, under the Maccabees, and Idumean 
princes, again became a capital until the time of 
Vespasian, emperor of Rome, by whose son Titus, 
it, was totally destroyed. At the division of the 
Roman empire, Judea passed into the hands of the 
Eastern emperors, and was at length wrested from 
their feeble grasp by the fanatic descendants of the 
Prophet, who, under the name of Caliphs, swept 
over the countries of the East, with resistless valour. 
After the battle of Yermuk, the Roman army no 
longer appeared in the field, and the Patriarch So- 
phronius, who had sustained a long siege, was obliged 
to capitulate to Omar, the conqueror of Persia and 
Syria. The Saracens continued in possession until 
the year 1090, when the Crusaders again planted 
the victorious cross on its walls. The new king- 
dom, of which Jerusalem was the capital, lasted 
eighty-eight years, under nine kings, and at length 
fell before the fortunate star of Saladin ; and, though 
the Christians once more got possession of the city, 
their success was of short duration. The holy city 
has, to the present time, been in the hands of the 
infidels, passing from the power of the Saracens to 
that of the Turks, who since the year 1217 have 
continued in possession of it. 



180 



NATURAL FEATURES. 



The site of Jerusalem is on an elevated plateau 
of land, within a basin of encircling hills. From 
these hills the ground occupied by the city is di- 
vided by ravines and valleys, except towards the 
north, where the natural separation of the site, 
from the surrounding country is less observable. 
The surface of the plateau is uneven, the south- 
western part, so often mentioned in Scripture 
under the name of Mount Zion, being much 
more elevated than the rest. A considerable por- 
tion of this is excluded from the modern town, 
and it is the only part of the city on arriving at 
which the traveller becomes aware of the ascent. 
The other eminences, as that of Mount Moriah, 
on which the temple was built ; Mount Acra, a 
densely populated quarter towards the north-east, 
are scarcely distinguishable as elevations, the inter- 
vening depressions having, partly by accident, and 
partly intentionally, been filled up. The descrip- 
tion of Josephus is wonderfully verified by personal 
inspection. He tells us, " The city was built upon 
two little hills opposite to one another, and separated 
with a valley, wonderfully thick-built with houses. 
One of these hills is far higher and steeper than 
the other, insomuch that because of the strength 
of it, King David in times past called it a castle, 
but we at this day, call it the high market-place. 
The other hill, called Acra, is the place where the 
lower part of the city stands. Opposite, against 
the hill, there was also another, lower than this 
Acra, and divided from it formerly, with a large 
valley, but afterwards, when the Asmoneans reign- 



MOUNT CALVARY. 



181 



ed, they filled up the valley to join the city into 
the temple, taking down the top of Acra, and 
making it lower, that it might not hide the temple. 
The valley by which the two higher hills are sepa- 
rated, is called Tyropsean, and reacheth unto Siloa." 

Of Mount Calvary I have yet said nothing, but 
of course among the many sacred places by which 
the attention of travellers is engaged, none occupies 
the attention that this does. In early ages it 
was never doubted that the church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, was really built over the exact site of 
the tomb in which Joseph of Arimathea caused the 
body of our Saviour to be placed, and though 
monkish credulity, and oftener, perhaps, a wish to 
gratify the love for the marvellous in the wander- 
ing pilgrim, may have induced the guardians of 
the edifice to multiply the objects of interest within 
the sacred enclosure, yet, it never was a question 
whether the church of the Holy Sepulchre was 
built upon Mount Calvary. Later travellers have, 
however, probably wearied and disgusted by the 
minute details connected with the death and burial 
of our Saviour, which are offered for their belief, 
often questioned the identity of the site altogether, 
and a late traveller of patient investigation has 
thrown the weight of his opinion with those of 
such as reject the evidence in its favour, as insuffi- 
cient. My own impression is, that it will be found 
that the inner wall of the three which Josephus 
mentions, as encircling Jerusalem, would have taken 
such a direction as to leave the church of the Holy 
Sepulchre without the wall ; in which case, the 



182 



CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 



chief objection against the reputed site being the 
real one, will be removed. Of course, after so many 
years and revolutions, there must be great difficulty 
in determining the course of the walls, which were suc- 
cessively built round the city. But gates are of ten 
found built with houses, and probably a more accurate 
investigation might identify the position of the gate 
Grennath, from which the second wall commenced. 45 ' 

The church of the Holy Sepulchre was origi- 
nally erected by the Empress Helena, and is sup- 
ported by the voluntary offerings of a constant 
concourse of pilgrims, who resort to Jerusalem dur- 
ing the holy week, as well as by the contributions 
of Christian princes. The original fabric has, how- 
ever, long disappeared, having been burnt down. 
The present structure, built of stone, with a roof 
of cedar, has at the south side two beautiful win- 
dows, as well as the door still remaining, of good 
Norman architecture, but the building, which the 
Crusaders erected, has suffered much from the law- 
less violence of the Saracens and Turks. We en- 
tered at the southern door, where there is a guard 
of Turks constantly stationed, having on our left- 
hand the sepulchre, and on our right Mount Cal- 
vary, which occupy respectively, the west and south 
of the building. Immediately before us was a slab 
of white marble enclosed by a rail, upon which it 
is said that the body of our Saviour was anoint- 

* Since writing the above, I find that my friend, Mr. Williams, 
has, during his residence at Jerusalem, given much attention to the 
subject, and accumulated such a mass of evidence, as to leave the 
matter beyond a doubt. 



CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 183 

ed. Near the entrance are the tombs of Godfrey 
of Boulogne, and his brother Baldwin, the first 
and second kings of Jerusalem, one on each side ; 
and a little farther, nearly under the door, on our 
left-hand, we found ourselves beneath the cupola 
which surmounts the west end. It is supported by 
sixteen columns, and is open at the top. Under- 
neath it is the holy sepulchre, which is surmounted 
by an oblong structure, with a small cupola in the 
centre on columns of polished porphyry. Its west 
end is much higher than the other parts, and is 
supported by ten small pillars. The entrance is from 
the east by a passage lined with marble, which leads 
to a room about three yards square, also of white 
marble. In the middle of the floor is a stone, a 
little raised, on which it is said the angel sat, who 
informed the two Maries of the resurrection of our 
Saviour. From this you again creep into an apart- 
ment, about eight or nine feet square, of solid rock, 
and on its north side is the sepulchre of our Lord. 
Having been much disfigured by the superstitious 
depredations of pilgrims, it is now enclosed with rails 
in the form of an altar. The heat was very great 
from the situation of the room, and the number of 
lamps which are constantly kept burning, and have 
thoroughly blackened the wall. " Thousands of 
Christians," says old Sandys, " perform their vows, 
and offer their tears here yearly, with all the ex- 
pression of sorrow, affection and penitence. It is a 
frozen zeal that will not be warmed with the light 
thereof. And, oh ! that I could retain the effect 
that it wrought, with an unfainting perseverance." 



184 CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 

At the extreme west of the building is a subter- 
raneous tomb, reputed to be that of Joseph of Ari- 
mathea. To the north of the holy sepulchre is the 
chapel of the apparition, and, on approaching it, is 
seen the spot where our Saviour is said to have ap- 
peared to Mary Magdalene, the places where they 
respectively stood being denoted by small slabs 
of white marble 9 the chapel of the apparition itself 
marking the place where our Saviour showed himself 
in order to console his sorrowing and suffering mother. 
Passing back by the western side of the Greek church, 
which occupies the choir of the building, and is very 
elegantly decorated, we returned by the stone of 
anointing to Mount Calvary. About twenty paces off, 
immediately in front, is the place where the Blessed 
Virgin stood, and the disciple whom Christ loved, 
when from the cross he commended each to one an-r 
other. On the way to it is the chapel of St. John, 
where there is a cleft in the rock, in which it is said 
the head of Adam was found. Over this are the 
chapels of Mount Calvary, to which the ascent is by 
a flight of twenty stone steps. The floor of the 
chapel, to which they conduct you, is paved with 
variously coloured marbles, and it is expected that 
you will take off your shoes before venturing to enter 
it. At the east end, under a large arch, is the place 
where our Saviour suffered, marked by an altar and 
covered with white marble. In the rock itself are 
the holes in which the cross of our Saviour stood, as 
well as those of the two thieves, that on the right 
side being occupied by the good thief. In the next 
chapel, screened off by a curtain, is a square of 



CHAPELS ON MOUNT CALVARY. 



185 



various marbles, on which it was said our Saviour's 
body was nailed to the cross. 

The two chapels on Mount Calvary belonged to 
the Georgians and the Latins, whilst various other 
different parts of the building belong to the Arme- 
nians, Copts, Abyssinians, and other Christian com- 
munities ; but now, as far as I could learn, the 
Greeks, Latins, and Armenians alone continue to 
occupy the respective parts. The Holy Sepulchre is 
peculiarly under the protection of the Latins, while 
the, Greeks occupy the whole eastern end of the build- 
ing, where they have a gorgeous and handsomely 
decorated chapel. One would have thought that the 
associations of such a locality would have been suf- 
ficient to ensure at least decorous and reverend be- 
haviour, and that man's angry passions and feelings 
would have been subdued in the hallowed precincts, 
where the Prince of Peace suffered and bled. Alas ! 
weak are external causes to produce even ordinary 
decent conduct ; and one is sorry to be obliged to 
recount that hardly a year passes that, at the crowded 
season of Easter and during the numerous processions, 
national antipathy does not break forth into unseemly 
quarrelling and riot, and even death is often known to 
ensue from the effects of ill-usage and violence. Du- 
ring the time that I was there, a quarrel had arisen, 
in which two persons were severely maltreated, and 
the Turkish guard were summoned in to restore order 
and detect the offender. I was passing into the 
church soon after and was stopped at the door by the 
guard, who, seeing me with a small stick in my hand, 
would not for some time allow me to enter. Well 



186 



MOSQUE OF OMAR. 



may the Christian blush that this should be the form 
under which the religion of Jesus is presented to the 
infidel. 

When Omar took the city in 637, a.d., he built, 
over the site of the temple, the Mosque which bears 
his name ; a stately structure, and one of the most 
elegantly shaped domes in the East. Around it is 
the sacred enclosure planted with trees, and occupy- 
ing the site of the courts and buildings, which were 
connected with the worship of the Temple. The 
whole enclosure is walled. The south and east wall 
being identical with part of those which surround the 
city. Into the sacred precinct a Frank would pene- 
trate at the peril of his life, or such other grievous 
assault as the fanatic Moslems might think a suffi- 
cient expiation for his presumption. At the north 
west corner is the Pasha's residence, occupying the 
site of Pontius Pilate's judgment-hall. From the top 
is a most commanding view into the interior of the 
enclosure of the Mosque ; and, the Pasha having given 
permission to Franks to take advantage of it, a pretty 
accurate idea can be formed of the holy precinct, 
without incurring the fanatical ire of the zealous 
Musselmans. If you ask for a firman, or pass, you 
receive the same answer that was given us at Hebron, 
that one can easily be granted, but that the governor 
will not' be answerable for the safety of those who 
venture to make use of it — a confession of weakness 
not very creditable to Turkish authority, and not 
very likely to induce any rational person to entrust 
his safety to so insecure a protection. A small dis- 
tance down the street commonly called the Via Dolo- 



CONVENT OF QUEEN HELENA. 



187 



rosa, as having been the street down which our Savi- 
our walked bearing his cross, is the ' Ecce Homo 1 
arch, (bearing, I conceive, marks of its Roman con- 
struction,) from which Pilate exhibited our Saviour to 
the enraged multitude beneath. 

The Via Dolorosa begins at St. Stephen's Gate, and 
continues over the hill Bezetha — the fourth hill on 
which the town stands, and of which I have not yet 
spoken. Immediately on the left, on entering the city 
by this gate, is a large reservoir, supposed to be the 
pool of Bethesda. This reservoir is now quite dry, 
and, in some places, filled up with rubbish, though in 
other parts it is yet so deep that the tops of trees 
growing at the bottom of it, do not reach the level of 
the street. Of the same character is the pool of Heze- 
kiah, which is also within the walls of the city. It is 
now nearly dry ; but the stagnant water within it 
renders the situation extremely unwholesome ; and 
it may be mentioned, as a proof of the little choice of 
residence which there is at Jerusalem, that a part of 
the bishop's house overlooks this pool, and is exposed 
to the maVaria arising from it. 

I must not omit to say a few words on one of the 
most remarkable specimens of ancient art which is to 
be found here. This consists of the remains of a con- 
vent built in the sixth century, and known by the 
name of the Convent of Queen Helena. It is now 
very ruinous ; but, judging from what is left, it appears 
to have been a heavy structure. The rooms which 
are the most entire, are the refectory, and the kitchen ; 
the latter being surmounted by four lanterns. 

On the outside of the city, to the south of St. 



188 



PILLAR OF ABSALOM. 



Stephen^ Gate, is the Golden Gate, which has long 
been blocked up, because the Mahometans, by whom 
it is called the Eternal Gate, have a tradition that a 
king shall one day enter through it and become the 
Lord of the whole Earth. It is said, that through 
this gate Christ made his entry into the city from the 
Mount of Olives. Without the walls, and between 
the two gates, is the Turkish burial-ground ; that 
used by the Jews lying on the other side of the 
brook Kedron, which here approaches very near to the 
city, and continues its course southward to the Dead 
Sea. It is in this burying place that the Jews, who 
come from all parts of the world to J erusalem, desire 
to be buried. The graves are marked by flat stones 
exhibiting Hebrew inscriptions. Four of them are 
much larger and more conspicuous than the rest, and 
are worthy of notice. The most northern is the 
sepulchre of Jehoshaphat with a handsome tower. 
You next arrive at the Pillar of Absalom, said to be 
the same which is mentioned in 2 Sam. xviii. 18. 
It is hewn in the solid rock, and has a top resembling 
a small tower. The Ionic character of the pillars, and 
other decorations, are evidently later than the time of 
Absalom, by whom it is said to have been erected. 
If it be the same, therefore, it must have undergone 
considerable alterations at a subsequent period. 
Further on is a grotto formed in the rock, with an 
ornamental porch, and called the Grotto of St. Jameg ; 
and the last of these, also hewn out of the rock, is 
the tomb of Zacharias, who was slain in the temple — 
see Matt, xxiii. 35. Further down the valley is the 
Fountain of the Virgin and the village of Siloam, and 



TOMB OF LAZARUS, 



189 



still more southward is the Pool of Siloam ; near 
which is shown a tree where, it is said, the Prophet 
Isaiah was sawn asunder. 

Crossing the brook Kedron, eastward from St. 
Stephen's Gate, and descending for some little dis- 
tance, at your left hand is the Garden of Gethsemane, 
the place of our Lord's agony being denoted by some 
very fine olive-trees. You proceed hence by a small 
path to the Mount of Olives, where the scene of our 
Lord's ascension is marked by a church, that w r as 
built here by the Empress Helena. It now belongs 
to the Armenians. 

According to agreement, myself and friends met 
the bishop and other strangers, at that time in 
Jerusalem, at St. Stephen's Gate. We mustered 
in all a party of more than thirty, with the usual 
baggage incident to travelling in the East. Wind- 
ing slowly down by the Mahomedan burial-ground, 
we crossed the dry bed of the torrent Kishon, and 
ascending by the little village of Siloam, soon 
reached Bethany at the turn of the hill. Most of 
our party here went a few yards aside to view the 
tomb of Lazarus, a grave cut in the solid rock, to 
w r hich there is a descent by a few stone steps. We 
had now got to the back of the hill, which interposed 
itself between us and Jerusalem, while the road 
which descended towards Jericho and wound between 
the narrow hills, assumed every moment the appear- 
ance of greater sterility. The track itself soon became 
unusually abrupt and rugged, and the few opportu- 
nities we had of extending our view beyond the sides 
of the hills which hemmed us in, shewed us a wild 



190 



JERICHO. 



and mountainous country, well known as the wil- 
derness of Judea. After about two hours and a 
half, we reached a watering place, evidently much 
trod by the shepherds whose flocks were pasturing 
on the scanty herbage which clothes the sides of 
the hills. Two more hours brought us by a steep 
and rough ascent to the edge of the mountainous 
country, from whence the descent is very abrupt to 
the plains of Jordan. The view from the top is fine 
and commanding, but of an extremely barren and 
waste character ; the level strip of land occasionally 
overflowed by the Jordan, and overgrown with vege- 
tation being the only spot on which the eye rested 
with satisfaction. Descending with difficulty, we 
passed Jericho, now entirely in ruins, having been 
destroyed by Ibrahim Pasha in the late Syrian wars. 
Crossing the plain at a sudden turn, we came upon 
the Greek pilgrims encamped in a picturesque wood- 
land glade, and concealed by trees. They formed 
the prettiest sight I could imagine. Grouped about 
in their respective tents, and collected, as they were 
from every nation, in which the Greek Church is the 
prevalent belief, they afforded a variety of costume, 
not often found together. The Turkish regiment 
which is allowed by the Pasha to escort the pilgrims 
to this annual pilgrimage to the Jordan, was drawn 
up at some little distance, and going through its 
evolutions. Passing through this motley assemblage 
after an hour and a half s ride through some pretty 
scenery, we reached what is reputed to be Elisha's 
fountain, where we had determined on resting for 
the night. We soon selected a spot fit for our 



GREEK PILGRIMS. 



191 



encampment ; but, though tired and hungry, it was 
some time before we could refresh ourselves after 
the labours of the day, our baggage-mules being 
far in the rear, and not arriving for a couple of hours. 
The fountain itself was within a few yards of our 
tents, and contained what was evidently a perennial 
supply of good water, in such a quantity as to over- 
flow and form a marsh for some considerable dis- 
tance. 

I was awoke before daybreak by a bustle in my 
tent, and a general stir throughout our little encamp- 
ment, I soon discovered that we were all on the 
move to see the pilgrims who were just passing. 
I hastily dressed myself, and going out, beheld a 
sight of a very novel description. The whole of the 
Greek pilgrims, escorted by the Turkish soldiers, 
had left their resting-place for the night, and were 
now in motion for the J ordan, where the custom is 
to commence bathing at the rising of the sun. Such 
a mixed multitude I never saw before. Eastern, 
Greek, Russian, Georgian costumes mixed together, 
men, women, and children, of all ages and sizes, 
mounted on camels, horses, mules, and asses, some 
sitting cross-legged, others slung on each side in bas- 
kets, but all under the strong feelings of religious 
zeal, having left their native land in order to visit 
the scenes consecrated by the presence of the Son of 
God. 

The sun was not yet risen, but there was suffi- 
cient light to enable us to see them perfectly, even 
without the large tapers which were here and there 
borne to mark their route. I stood watching them, 



192 



BANKS OF THE JORDAN. 



until the last of the procession had entered the thick 
brushwood, which lines the banks of the Jordan, 
and which concealed them ; and then hurrying to my 
tent and getting a hasty mouthful, I soon followed 
to see the character of the ceremony. Riding as fast 
as I could through the entangled thickets, I soon came 
on the Turkish soldiers, who, having done their share 
of the work, lay about in groups, smoking and drink- 
ing coffee, utterly regardless of what doubtless ap- 
peared to them the absurd ceremony which was going 
on around. On the banks, the crowd was dense in 
the extreme, and it required no little exertion to get 
near enough to watch the proceedings. Of course, 
tradition considers the place at which this annual 
pilgrimage takes place to be the exact spot at which 
our Saviour was baptized by John the Baptist, 
" Bethabara beyond Jordan." 

If I could have fixed my eyes on one individual 
group, independently of the bustle and the many 
ridiculous incidents which continually were taking 
place, I think it might have been a gratifying and 
interesting scene ; but the confusion was so great, 
the noise so incessant, and the terror depicted on 
some faces from the jostle and personal collision was 
so evident (for accidents by drowning often happen), 
that my thoughts were much called away from the 
religious character of the proceeding, and I do not 
think that the feelings of our party were much im- 
pressed by it. After staying some time to watch 
the perpetual succession of new candidates for immer- 
sion, we ourselves wandered some little way up the 
banks of the river to discover a fit place for bathing, 



THE DEAD SEA. 



193 



but were not fortunate enough to find one, owing 
to the steepness of the banks, and the thick matted 
labyrinth of brushwood, which would have rendered 
the attempt highly dangerous. Others of our party, 
however, we heard, had succeeded better. Passing 
again through the busy scene, we at length found 
a sequestered spot some way lower down, where we 
refreshed our heated bodies in the stream of the 
Jordan, having left a guard over our clothes ; and 
then regaining our companions, who had preceded 
us, entered upon the sandy and desert plain, by 
which the Dead Sea is approached from the north. 
As we advanced, the stern aspect of the scenery 
momentarily increased ; the sunburnt lime mountains 
in which the Sea is embosomed reared their jagged 
peaks in grand contusion ; while the intense heat of 
the sun, and the labour of travelling, from the soft 
nature of the nitrous incrustation over the loose sand, 
made our advance laborious and long. We at length 
reached its waters, and some were bold enough to 
bathe again, and they suffered nothing in conse- 
quence. I was not so venturous, and was well satis- 
fied to fill a large flask, which I had with me, as a 
present to such of my friends in England, as were 
interested in the analysis of this remarkable water. 

The neighbourhood of the Dead Sea is marked 
by extreme desolation. The cliffs rise to a vast 
height on the east and west ; and a stillness reigns 
over the whole extent of its waters, which proclaims 
how seldom anything living approaches its shores. 
No fish are to be found in its waters, with the ex- 
ception of those occasionally brought down by the 

K 



194 



THE DEAD SEA. 



J ordan, which do not long survive : and, though 
I certainly did not see any birds in its vicinity, 
yet I can hardly believe the common report, that 
such is the noxious character of the vapours ema- 
nating from it, as actually to be prejudicial to 
the birds of the air in their flight over its surface. 
It is generally believed to occupy the site on which 
stood the cities of the plain, which were destroyed 
for their wickedness, and I think the Bible would 
mark their precise locality towards its southern point. 
Occasionally, immense masses of bitumen are loosened 
from its bottom, and are seen floating on its surface. 
The Bedouins make a great harvest when such is 
the case, as it is much prized, and many pretty little 
articles are made from it, which are to be had in the 
bazaars. Tradition says that, before its formation, 
the Jordan passed through the Wady Arabah to the 
Eed Sea. At the present moment the streams for a 
considerable distance to the south of the Dead Sea 
flow into it, taking a northerly course, and, had this 
always been the case, it would prove, from the level 
ground being higher at a greater distance from the 
Dead Sea, than in its immediate vicinity, that the 
waters of the Jordan could never have flowed down, 
through the Wady Arabah into the Red Sea. But 
I see no reason for doubting, that the same grand 
convulsion of nature, which caused the Dead Sea, may 
have also caused such a change in the elevation of the 
land in the neighbourhood, as materially to alter its 
level, and cause the water to the south of the Dead 
Sea to take a different direction in finding an outlet. 
Skirting for some little distance the sea towards 



EASTERN HOSPITALITY. 



195 



its north-west corner, we turned over a ledge of rocks, 
and clambering often over what was more like a 
worn staircase than anything deserving the name of 
a road, at length, after a most fatiguing ride, we 
emerged on the barren table-land of the wilderness. 
The Dead Sea itself lies so embosomed in the barren 
mountains which nearly encircle it, that we soon lost 
sight of it, but yet scarcely diversified our route, which, 
though not absolutely desert, was of the most mono- 
tonous and barren character. At length, pretty 
nearly exhausted with heat and thirst, we reached 
the convent of St. Saba, romantically situated at the 
mouth of a deep defile, and overhanging a steep 
and precipitous ravine, by which the waters of the 
brook Kedron must find their way to the Dead 
Sea. 

Both from the natural strength of the position, and 
the resources of art, the convent bears quite the cha- 
racter of some fortified castle, and the worthy monks 
have in past ages, often been indebted to its inacces- 
sible situation and lofty walls for protection from the 
marauding Bedouins, who infest the neighbourhood. 
Having presented our letters, we were admitted into 
the interior, and following our guide through a long 
flight of steps, and across a very irregularly built court, 
were ushered into a most spacious reception room, fitted 
up with the usual divan. Such was the space within 
its walls, that our party, large as it was, was soon 
completely accommodated, and then various apart- 
ments allotted. The first salutations being over, the 
usual Eastern hospitality of fruit and sweetmeats 

was introduced. In the evening we visited the chapel, 

k 2 



196 



BETHLEHEM. 



heavily built of plastered stone, and decorated with 
the usual quantity of bad pictures, and mounted 
such elevated parts of the building, as could give us 
some idea of the surrounding scene. 

The convent is erected upon the site of a building 
tenanted by the Mar Saba, who lived in the fifth 
century, and was one of the most illustrious of those 
numerous anchorites, who peopled the almost inac- 
cessible and lonely districts of the East; and in the 
ravine below we observed many cells, which served 
as the occasional haunts of these religious recluses. 
In the morning, bidding good-frye to the worthy 
fathers, we took a north-westerly direction, and pass- 
ing for a couple of hours over scenery of the same 
wild character as that by which the convent is ap- 
proached from the Dead Sea, with occasionally fine 
distant views, our track at length descended to a 
pretty winding valley, denoting by its cultivation and 
the flocks feeding around, that we had left the 
wilderness. We soon got sight of Bethlehem, and 
ascending the steep hill by which it is approached, 
after paying a passing visit to the convent, set out on 
our return to the Holy City. 



THE HOLY CITY. 



197 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Leaving Jerusalem. — Samaria. — Jezr eel. — Nazareth. — Acre. — 
Mount Tabor. — Sea of Galilee. — Damascus. 

Having bid adieu to our kind friends, and finish- 
ed our preparations, I at length took a reluctant 
leave of Jerusalem. The associations connected with 
the Holy City had by no means lessened the interest, 
from the short visit I had been able to make it; and 
the nearer the day of our quitting it approached, the 
more I seemed to regret that circumstances prevented 
me from delaying my departure longer. In addition 
to which, the attentions and hospitality of my friends 
added much to what I felt would always be most 
pleasing reminiscences of my sojourn there. Having 
some business in the bazaars, I left our party to fol- 
low the shortest route through the Jaffa Gate, whilst, 
accompanied by my dragoman, I transacted the few 
commissions I had to execute, and then, passing 
through the Damascus Gate and crossing the olive- 
gTOunds, overtook our friends at the tombs of the 
kings. The road, which gradually descended for some 
distance through the olive-grounds by which it was 
skirted, soon emerged on the open country by which 
Jerusalem was bounded on the north-east. We now 



198 



FINAL DEPARTURE. 



got on higher ground, ascending but slowly from the 
constant inclination we felt to stop and enjoy the 
last opportunity we should most likely ever have of 
beholding a scene, fraught with recollections of no 
ordinary character. From the brow of the hill is 
the finest view of the Holy City that I had yet seen. 
The principal objects of interest, within the walls, 
present themselves clearly to the eye, while the cha- 
racteristic position of the town, and the peculiar and 
distinctive features of its environs, hardly less well 
known and associated with Scripture recollections 
than the city itself, are presented to the eye with a 
marked clearness. How naturally as we all silently 
gazed on the " widowed Queen" for the last time, 
did the thoughts recur to us of the vast and never- 
ending influence over the human race, of the events 
of which she had been the witness, and of the inte- 
rest attached to her name in every country and clime 
to which the Cross had reached. And as we contem- 
plated her as we had now seen her, trodden down by 
the Infidel desolation, and by barbarian war, and de- 
graded by a false religion, or the defilement of sensu- 
ality and impiety, I could not resist being led on to 
the time when, arising from the dead, and putting on 
her beautiful garments, she should again be the joy 
of the whole earth, when she shall no longer be term- 
ed " forsaken, neither shall the land any more be 
desolate." 

Some minutes elapsed before we could summon 
up resolution to turn our backs upon the " City of 
David." The proudly rising dome of the Mosque 
of Omar, with its graceful minarets, was soon buried 



EL BIREH. 



199 



behind the hill, and the Mount of Olives and the 
Hill of the Ascension lingered but a few minutes 
in the landscape. Before we had proceeded far, every 
feature which could possibly recall the scene on 
which we had so lately gazed had disappeared. Still 
descending in a country, for the most part wild, but 
occasionally abounding with pretty little oases of cul- 
tivation, we arrived about sunset at El Bireh, our 
station for the night. On unloading, we found that 
in the bustle attendant on leaving Jerusalem, we had 
forgotten one of our tents. A messenger was imme- 
diately despatched, who returned about midnight 
with the lost article. Before the night closed in, I 
strolled into the miserable village by which we were 
encamped, which, now bearing the name of El Bireh, 
is supposed to be the Beer of Scripture. The only 
object of interest it contains are some curious old 
cloisters, now used as stables, which formerly must 
have belonged to some monastic foundation. They 
occupy two sides of a square, and are on one side 
divided by two rows of massive square piers, which 
cannot, strictly speaking, be said to have any capi- 
tals ; the arch arising from the smallest angularly 
projecting abacus, and forming groins like those I 
had observed at St. Ann's. The arches themselves, 
which were chamfered at the edges, projected for- 
ward, in a very unusual manner. At the other 
end of the village are the ruins of the church, ap- 
parently of much later date. It is entered with 
difficulty through a door- way, half stopped up. The 
building is terminated by an apse, ornamented by a 
panelling of intersecting arches, some few feet from 



200 



Jacob's well. 



the ground, and has long windows, of a single light. 
The arches were slightly pointed, and the remaining 
capitals were enriched with foliage, while a heavy 
projecting moulding passed continuously round the 
building, immediately over the arches. There was 
one window of the clerestory standing, with one 
light, and edge shafts at the sides, of Norman 
architecture. 

The road from El Bireh was of much the same 
description as that we had passed on the previous 
day. The deep valleys were standing thick with 
corn, while olive-trees and other timber clothed 
the hills nearly to their tops, the road lying gene- 
rally along their sides. In the middle of the day 
we descended at a much frequented watering-place, 
called Khan Lubber, in the neighbourhood of which 
a large party of Turks were resting themselves 
and their horses, and lying about in groups, under 
the shade of a few trees. We took the opportunity 
of taking our mid-day meal, and then remounting 
and keeping up the deep valley, at the entrance of 
which the Khan is situated, emerged upon a park- 
like open glade. This we crossed, and at length 
descended into a vale of much greater size than 
we had yet seen. The road wound prettily on its 
western part, at the border of the wood on its 
sides, leaving us a fine view of its richly cultivated 
centre, and pretty villages which studded the rising 
ground. About six p. m. having advanced two-thirds 
of its length, we turned to our left, Mount Gerizim 
and Mount Ebal being on either side of us, and 
passing Jacob's well, pitched in some olive-grounds 



SAMARITAN SYNAGOGUE. 



201 



at no great distance from the city of Naplouse. We 
found ourselves too much pressed for time to allow 
of our descending Mount Grerizim, as we wished; 
we therefore were obliged to be content with a 
visit to Jacob's well. It lies just at the entrance 
of the valley from which we had diverged the even- 
ing before, and the view from it is rural and pic- 
turesque in the extreme. Our visit vividly re- 
called to our minds the dialogue of our Saviour 
and the Samaritan woman; and the fields in the 
neighbourhood over which there is a commanding 
view, appeared to be "just white for the harvest." 
The well itself is simply a circular hole in the rock, 
and seemed to be of great antiquity. It was of a 
considerable depth, but much choked up with large 
stones. The old town was situated in its imme- 
diate vicinity, but has long since disappeared. Re- 
tracing our steps a good mile, to the town of Nap- 
louse, we entered, just outside its gates, what seemed 
to have been once a cloister, but which had of late 
been turned into a fortress, by additions to the 
strength of its walls. The town seemed poorer 
than the usual run of second-rate Arab towns, but 
I was much surprised at the numerous remains of 
Christian architecture which met my eye. The 
exterior walls of a large religious building were 
still standing, and a Norman door-way, of no mean 
pretensions, attracted my attention. 

We were anxious to see the Samaritan syna- 
gogue, of which we at length obtained the keys. 
The great curiosity in the room was, a copy of the 
Pentateuch, which the high priest assured me was 

k 5 



202 



SEBASTE. 



in the hand-writing of Aaron. The room was nearly 
filled up with carpets, and seemed to be much like 
an ordinary Jewish synagogue. They still preserve 
their long cherished dislike to their Jewish bre- 
thren, and though reduced to the small number of 
seventy families, have existed for more than two 
thousand years a separate community. 

Having loitered amongst these interesting objects, 
we found ourselves behind the rest of the party, who, 
supposing we had left the city, had gone on. It 
was midday before we took our leave of Nap- 
louse, and we steered our way to Sebaste, the an- 
cient Samaria, keeping along a pretty valley, with 
a road better and wider than usual. At the first 
watering-place we arrived at, upon inquiry we 
learnt that the rest of our party were about half 
an hour before us, and in turning over the hill, we 
came within sight of them. On the brow, we en- 
joyed a most delicious prospect. At our feet was 
a pretty valley, in which the harvest had just com- 
menced ; the outline of the distant hills was seen, 
and the villages interspersed among them were 
peeping out from amidst their well-wooded summits, 
whilst on our side we caught a glimpse of the blue 
sea, through a depression in the range. Sebaste 
soon came in sight on the side of the hill, towards 
the north-west, and taking a guide to show us the 
nearest approach to it, after an abrupt descent, we 
remounted on the other side, to the ancient capital 
of Israel. 

Picturesque as is the situation of Sebaste, and 
impressive as are its ruins when seen from the op- 



THE CHURCH. 



203 



posite hill, a nearer approach but serves to show 
the traveller that the capital of the ten tribes has 
become a dirty and miserable Arab village, huts of 
the poorest description occupying its site. We now 
found our way over heaps of rubbish to the church, 
and, having procured the key, entered its enclo- 
sures. It is dedicated to the Baptist, and though 
its fine stone roof has long since fallen in, and 
exposed it to the weather, its external walls are 
still, for the most part, in a state of good preserva- 
tion. The church is in the form of a Latin cross, 
is of considerable length, and is entered from the 
west. The entrance at this end is of a very simple 
construction, and over it are two plain narrow win- 
dows. The area at the west-end is occupied by a 
mosque, which fills up the space. Making our way 
over the ruins, we had an opportunity of observing the 
east-end, which is terminated by a large apse, in which 
are three long lancet windows. The arch at the en- 
trance of the apse is slightly pointed, having at its 
spring two grotesque figures, that of an owl on one 
side, and that of a lion on the other, and round it 
runs a very pretty moulding of flowers. The east- 
end is lighted by three narrow round-headed win- 
dows. The cross is completed by two smaller 
apses, in each of which is a long window, and the 
rest of the building is lighted by four long narrow 
windows on each side with steep buttresses between 
them, much resembling those of an early English 
character. Against the piers, at the intersection of 
the transverse apsides with the nave, are two semi- 
circular pilasters of quite a Grecian character-. The 



204 



GIBEAH. 



arches of the interior are almost round. The exterior 
of the east-end is rather striking : about a third from 
the bottom is an arcade of five round blank arches, 
with clustered columns between each, and above them 
is a semicircular panelling, with a shaft at each inter- 
section of the semicircular running up to a cornice at 
the top. 

On leaving the village we passed through a corn- 
field, in which were a number of columns still stand- 
ing, besides capitals and other fragments scattered in 
every direction. They belonged, no doubt, to the 
edifices with which Herod embellished the capitol. 
Previously to diverging from the main route we had 
ordered our baggage-mules and servants to go by the 
straight road to J eneen, and there await our arrival, 
while we intended reaching the same point by a 
detour. Passing on in a western course, under the 
direction of a guide whom we had procured in the vil- 
lage, and, as we thought, satisfied ourselves of the 
route we were to take, we had sent him back with a 
gratuity of a few piasters ; but it was not long be- 
fore we found that in turning round the base of a hill 
to the west, we had taken the wrong road. The 
view, however, from the moor on which we at length 
came out, fully repaid us for our mistake, presenting 
at our feet a beautifully rich plain bounded by wood- 
land slopes, more than usually picturesque. We had 
not much time to enjoy the prospect, but, descending 
to the right and skirting the slopes of the vale, made 
the best of our way to the pretty village of Gibeah, 
which we could hardly see among the profusion of 
vine, olive, and fig-trees, in which it is buried. Keep- 



JENEEN, 



205 



ing above the village in a course to the north-west, 
alternately enjoying the rich fertile plains and the 
wavy corn, with the wilder scenery of the woods and 
uplands, about an hour before sunset we reached 
Jebukah. Here there is a fine view over the plain of 
Esdraelon, terminated by the distant hills of Galilee. 
The sun had set before we got to Kubatzieh, though 
we were yet far from our resting-place for the night, 
and before we reached a deep dell, through which 
our course for some time lay, and which eventually 
brought us to Jeneen, the shadows of night had long 
closed in upon us. 

In the morning we had an opportunity of surveying 
the last night's encampment. Jeneen is situated 
among some trees at the opening of a long defile, by 
which the plain of Esdraelon is approached from the 
south. The pass by which we had entered was com- 
pletely concealed by the formation of the ground and 
the luxuriance of the shrubs, whilst our view of the 
plains was interrupted by some projecting rising 
ground. We had taken guards for our protection, 
having been told that some other travellers had been 
robbed of a horse, from not having used the like pre- 
caution. On awaking in the morning we found that 
the guards had decamped, having taken with them 
one of our horses, and I have no doubt that they had 
robbed the other party by the same contrivance. 
The plains of Esdraelon, through which our course 
lay, are about twelve or fourteen miles long, with a 
remarkably fertile but poorly-cultivated soil. On the 
west they are inclosed by a range of bare hills, the 
loftiest being Little Hermon, which bend eventually 



206 



FOUNTAIN OF THE VIRGTN. 



towards the sea, and terminate in the headland of 
Mount Carmel, while towards the east are the broken 
ranges, known as the mountains of Gilboa. Towards 
the north end stands Jezin, the ancient J ezreel, where 
the eastern range of hills slopes into the plain, and at 
the entrance of a valley which runs down to the Jor- 
dan. As we advanced we came in sight of Megiddo 
and Taanah, Scripture associations crowding upon us. 
We were on the scene of Gideon's battles, the ex- 
ploits of Barak and Deborah against Sisera. On Gil- 
boa Saul ended his inglorious life, and at Jezreel 
Ahab fixed his royal residence. In about four hours 
from starting we reached the northern boundary of 
the plains, our road bringing us upon some open 
downs, which soon descended to a deep rocky defile. 
Here the beautiful wooded top of Mount Tabor came 
in sight. The track was here excessively rough and 
bad, and we were glad enough to take advantage of 
half an hour's rest at a fountain by which we passed. 
Ascending the rocky eminence still higher, on turning 
the brow of the Mountains we came in sight of Naza- 
reth, perched among the wild and barren hills which 
encircle it, and amongst which the hill of Precipitation 
forms a principal feature. Keeping outside for some 
little distance, we came to the fountain of the Virgin, 
close by which in an olive-garden we found a conve- 
nient spot for our encampment. As we passed, the 
fountain was thronged with many women from the 
town, attired in jewels and unusually bright colours. 
Their gay trowsers particularly attracted our notice, as 
well as the ornaments on their wrists and ankles, and 
their pitchers on their heads forcibly reminded us of 



ACRE. 



207 



the unchangeable character of Eastern costume and 
manner. 

We had made arrangements for leaving, our tents 
standing under the protection of our servants, while 
we took the opportunity of visiting Acre and Mount 
Carmel. Having taken one dragoman and two Arab 
drivers with us, we left our tents early, and passing 
through the town, after a few minutes' delay at the 
convent, where one of our party was lodged, we 
ascended the hill to the north of the town by as bad 
and stony a road as I ever travelled on. A long 
winding path, of much the same inconvenient descrip- 
tion, brought us down to the other side, into a deep 
and romantic dell, prettily varied by dwarf trees and 
wild flowers. At its end is a pretty rural hamlet, by 
which flows a rapid stream. Here the rich plains 
opened upon us, of which we had seen the entrance 
on our left hand on leaving the plains of Esdraelon, 
confined towards the south by the Carmel range of 
hills. Near its further end we met a party of our 
friends returning from the convent, who, on hearing 
of our intention of going direct to Mount Carmel, 
advised us to visit Acre before proceeding to it, as 
the Pasha would go after his dinner to his country 
seat ; and, not being friendly to the English, he does 
not allow them to inspect the citadel — a pretty return 
this for the few slight favours we have conferred 
upon the Turks. Leaving them with the inten- 
tion of following their advice, we began to ascend 
the rising ground, among a thick grove of oak and 
other forest-trees, while hollyhocks, roses, honey- 
suckles, and convolvuluses bloomed around our path, 



208 



ACRE, 



and rendered the scene quite that of an English park. 
On descending, we came in sight of Mount Carmel at 
some distance on our left, and sending a messenger to 
the convent to notify our approach, we turned our 
backs upon it for a time, and proceeded in a north- 
westerly direction to Acre. 

Our road to this city, over a sandy plain, proved 
long and uninteresting, it being quite in the afternoon 
before we found ourselves at its gate. Finding the 
double barricade erected, (the usual precaution when 
there is any plague threatened,) to prevent egress, 
and to allow the country people to bring their pro- 
duce for sale, we hesitated at first to enter, but on 
asking a French sportsman, who happened at the 
moment to be coming out of the city, he satisfied us 
that the place remained uninfected, though the plague 
was in Tyre and Sidon, and it was not impossible, 
therefore, that it would reach Acre before long. 
Passing the barricade we entered the gates, at which 
the usual guard was posted. No part of the town 
had suffered more than this in the late affair, the ma- 
gazine, which was situated here, having by its explo- 
sion reduced the building to some distance round to 
a heap of ruins. One of the streets of bazaars, which 
had been entirely destroyed, had been rebuilt, and, 
with this exception, things seemed to have remained in 
statu quo\ even to the cannon balls, which were lying 
occasionally in the streets. Having procured leave 
from the senior officer to visit the fortress, we entered 
its renowned walls. 

Interesting as the late encounter was to the tra- 
veller, from the visible effects before his eyes, and the 



THE CITADEL. 



209 



changes it had produced in the sovereign dynasty of 
the east, brought about by English valour and influ- 
ence, yet this occupied but a small portion of my 
thoughts as I paced the ramparts of Acre, the theatre 
of so many hard-earned conflicts and desperate de- 
fences. Here Philip Augustus and Richard Cceur de 
Lion, two of the most potent monarchs of their time, 
had been victorious ; here the Knights of Malta had 
triumphed : and here, before these walls, the career of 
the most ruthless conqueror the world has ever seen, 
had been turned back ; whilst, still later, it had been 
wrested from the Sultan by his over-grown servant, 
and became again the theatre of British courage in 
restoring it to its rightful owner. Few places have 
occupied so large a page in history. 

The citadel bore marks of damage : many shots 
were still to be seen sticking in the walls ; but the 
bastions and outworks seemed to have suffered little. 
From the ramparts to the north-east there is a fine 
view of the town, which is on this side protected by 
a double wall and ditch. Compared with modern 
fortified places, the defences do not appear strong, but 
the situation of the town is much in its favour, 
standing, as it does, on the jutting horn of the bay, 
with no higher position to command it from the land 
side ; and a shelf of rocks extending far into the sea 
before it, renders the approach on that side difficult 
and hazardous. 

After getting some slight refreshment we re- 
mounted, and skirting the bay, reached Oaiffa, on the 
other side, a little after dark. Here we procured a 
guide to take us to the convent, which is situated on 



210 



THE CONVENT. 



the heights above at about an hour's distance, and 
glad enough we all were, after more than twelve 
hours' riding in the hot sun, to receive the salutations 
of the worthy monks, and to forget our toils in their 
hospitable cheer. In the morning, before setting out 
on our return, we had ample opportunity for enjoying 
the lovely scenery, both from the window of our 
salon and a small look-out house on the top of the 
building. A vast extent of sea, clear and still as a 
lake was before our eyes, with the whole of the ex- 
tent of the bay round which we had travelled on the 
preceding evening, and Acre, which appeared resting 
on the waters, while the slopes of Mount Lebanon 
bounded the horizon. 

The convent, which is under the immediate pro- 
tection of the French, as belonging to the Eomanists, 
has little to interest in its building, which has been but 
lately erected. Nor is its chapel more worthy of 
notice, gaudily ornamented as it is, in the worst taste. 
At the rear of the altar, however, is a grotto, which we 
visited with some interest, as tradition asserts it to be 
the spot where Elijah discomfited the priests of Baal, 
while he proved the reality of his own divine mission. 
About noon we bade good-bye to the worthy fathers ; 
and, descending the wooded slopes towards Caiffa, 
returned to Nazareth on the opposite side of the plain 
to that we had travelled on the preceding day. Fall- 
ing into our old track before entering on the hill coun- 
try, we regained our tents long before dark, pretty 
well tired out and glad of a little rest, to enable us to 
undergo the fatigues of the following day. 

Before going to rest, I had been warned to place 



A ROBBERY. 



211 



everything of value in as secure a place as possible, 
Nazareth being renowned for the light-fingered quali- 
fications of its inhabitants. With a carelessness 
which fully justified the event, I placed my trowsers, 
in which I carried a considerable sum of money in 
Turkish and English gold, between the wall of my 
tent and the bed, leaving my other articles round the 
pole in the centre, which is by far the safest position. 
I was awoke about five, by one of our party run- 
ning towards my tent with the information that 
we must be delayed some time, as one of the riding 
horses had been stolen during the night, and on 
arousing myself in a moment, perceived that my 
trowsers, money, and all were gone. I hastily dressed 
myself, and I do not know that for a few moments I 
ever felt more unhappy, the sum I had lost being of 
no small amount, and, under the circumstances, far 
beyond its intrinsic value. I had made up my mind 
that the only course I could pursue was to retrace 
my steps to Jerusalem, give up all idea of a further 
tour in Palestine, as the season would be too far ad- 
vanced to perform it with safety. 

In this disconsolate mood I had returned to my 
tent, and was sitting on my bed deploring my misfor- 
tune, when by some chance, on casting my eyes on 
the floor, what should I see but my lost purse. I 
never felt more surprised in my life, nor was my joy 
less than my surprise, though to this day, by what 
fortunate circumstance I was indebted for the preser- 
vation of my treasure, I know not. My conjecture 
is, that the robber had inserted at the joining of the 
tent a crooked stick, or some such implement, by 



212 



MOUNT TABOK. 



which he had drawn out my trowsers, but, being 
turned up, the weight of the gold had caused the 
purse to fall out of the pocket. I was too happy to 
think of my loss, which under the circumstances 
might have annoyed me, and inserting myself in a 
pair of Turkish nether integuments, which I fortu- 
nately had with me, started for the day's work. 
Previously, however, we called for a friend who had 
taken up his residence in the convent. We entered 
the door and crossed the court-yard to visit the 
chapel, a dreary and, in itself, uninteresting building, 
hung round with blue damask, and presenting the 
usual tawdry adjuncts of the Roman Catholic worship. 
Under the altar is a grotto where, it is said, the 
house of the Virgin Mary once stood, but whence it 
was conveyed by angels, and, after some adventures, 
finally found a resting-place at Loretto. How pro- 
bable, that on the very spot where my tent stood, 
the Saviour of the world might in his youth have 
strayed. 

A little north of Nazareth is the Tell Hattin 
where the tottering power of Christendom in the East 
was effectually overthrown by the victorious Saladin ; 
we, however, did not take the main route, but fol- 
lowed a pretty winding path across the vale, in the 
direction, of Mount Tabor, having given our last in- 
structions to our retinue to go the straight road to 
Tiberius and meet us there. Our path was a mere 
steep track, which, passing over a series of low un- 
dulating hills, in little more than an hour brought us 
to the south-west base of Mount Tabor. We rode a 
little way up its side, and then leaving our horses in 



SCENE FROM ITS SUMMIT. 



213 



charge, commenced the winding ascent on foot. In 
about an hour we reached the summit, where are 
some extensive ruins of a castle, but much too dilapi- 
dated to present any features of interest. Seating 
ourselves on the wall, we endeavoured to make out 
the extensive and magnificent prospect before us. 
Unfortunately, the day had commenced with rain, 
and though it had partially cleared off, a heavy mist 
still occasionally hung about the tops of the moun- 
tains. We were, however, well repaid for the ascent. 
On the south, looking over the plains of Esdraelon, 
our view was terminated by the hill country, from 
which we had enjoyed such delightful scenes whilst 
travelling ; between Samaria and J eneen, Little Her- 
mon was seen sloping into the valley of the J ordan, 
whilst the sites of Nain, Endor, and Jezreel were still 
visible. On the east we could clearly see the silver 
line of the J ordan, and the mountains of Bashan and 
Gilead, with a lovely peep at the sea of Galilee to- 
wards the north. On the west we were in view of 
the Oarmel range, the fine bold barren peaks of hills 
amongst which Nazareth is situated, and where these 
terminate to the south-west we could just see the 
blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea through the 
opening. On the north our prospect was bounded by 
extensive tracts of table-land, terminating at length 
in the Lebanon range, among whose lofty peaks the 
snow-capped Hermon was a most conspicuous object. 
How many associations were crowded within the wide 
space over which the eye wandered, and how impos- 
sible to convey the impression felt when the loveliness 
of the natural scene was absorbed in and subordinate 



214 



SEA OF GALILEE. 



to interest of another character. Mount Tabor stands 
unconnected with other objects, and isolated ; and its 
beautifully wooded slopes and summit contrast to 
great advantage with the bare mountains in its neigh- 
bourhood. It is supposed to be the scene of the 
Transfiguration; and as Hermon is said to be se- 
lected for its pre-eminent height and size, so is Tabor 
naturally chosen for its incomparable beauty in the 
frequent mention of the hills of the East which 
abound in Scripture. 

Retracing our steps in a shower of rain, we joined 
our horses about one p. m., and followed a path down 
a picturesque glade prettily studded with some fine 
trees, while the sides of the hills bore quite a forest- 
like appearance. Many Arabs, of whom we had 
heard but a bad account, reclining in the shade, were 
tending their flocks or driving them to water or pas- 
ture ; and as we got to the further end of the wood- 
land we met a party of about twelve Bedouins, 
habited in their usual costume, on their nimble Arab 
steeds. They bore long spears in their hands, and 
saluted the Frank traveller with a " good morning" 
as they passed. Coming out in the open plain, we 
passed between an old fortress on either side at its 
entrance, and keeping across it, interrupted as it was 
by some, occasional deep depressions, reached the. 
summit of the last ridge of hills, which intervened 
between us and the sea of Galilee, which lay before 
us, embosomed in its circle of mountains. The de- 
scent to the shores of the lake is by a very rugged 
road, and long before we reached the bottom we 
could clearly distinguish the town of Tiberius, with 



TIBERIUS. 



215 



our encampment on the shore just outside the walls. 
As we approached, we could perceive only one boat 
on its surface, which, from a fresh wind blowing at 
the time, was much ruffled. Its length appeared to 
be about twenty miles, and its breadth, which much 
varied, from four to seven miles, but owing to the 
volcanic character of the mountains of the Gadarenes, 
its shores assume but a desert appearance. 

Rising early on the following morning, we took a 
most refreshing bathe in the lake, whose waters, from 
their extreme softness, are much more agreeable to 
wash in than to drink. After breakfast we walked 
along the shore to the sulphur baths, about a mile and 
a half distant. The spring issues under a building 
surmounted by a dome, which has been built over 
it, and a large reservoir has been formed, which is 
supplied by a pipe ornamented with a lion's mouth. 
We put our fingers into the water as it issued 
forth, but found it so hot that we were glad quickly 
to withdraw them. The virtues of these waters 
are much extolled in cutaneous and other disorders, 
and at the time we visited them there was no lack 
of bathers. 

Returning, we found our baggage packed up and 
ready to start, and taking it with us we made our 
way through the town, which resembled a place 
taken by storm, such havoc had the earthquake 
made. It was for some time a place of very con- 
siderable importance, and contained a school of much 
repute, but at present it is nearly deserted, half the 
houses within its walls being ruinous and untenanted. 
The few persons who reside in it are composed prin- 



216 



CAPERNAUM, 



cipally of Jews, who wear the conical hat, the usual 
head-dress of that nation in the East. Passing be- 
yond the town, and skirting the western shore of the 
lake, in about an hour we reached a miserable collec- 
tion of huts, said to be Magdala. Many mountain 
streams here fall into the lake, bubbling through 
thickets of oleander trees. All travellers assign to 
Bethsaida and Ohorazin a position somewhere in this 
part, but these places themselves have long since 
perished, and their sites are not sufficiently known to 
be accurately identified. 

In about another hour and a half there is an abrupt 
ledge of rock over which the road lies, and at the 
bottom of this a fine stream of water gushes from the 
earth under a fig-tree. Here, allowing our baggage 
to pursue the direct route, which leaves at the point 
of the lake, we kept on the rugged path by the 
water's edge, fording a number of streams, one of 
which we observed turned a mill. Near this Caper- 
naum is considered to have been situated, of which, 
however, not a trace remains at present, and it is 
only from its casual mention by writers that its site 
can be determined. It is indeed remarkable that 
these places, so honoured by our Lord's presence, 
and so rebuked by him for their unbelief, should now 
have perished so that even their sites are forgotten. 

About an hour from our passing these interesting 
spots we came upon some very extensive ruins, lying 
in all directions in the coarse grass. They consisted 
of pillars, with capitals and cornices of much beauty 
and delicacy of execution. The forms of some of the 
buildings might by a little trouble be made out, and 



ENTRANCE TO THE LAKE. 



217 



the bases of a few of the columns were still in their 
places. From their elaborate finish and the richness 
of their ornaments, they were most probably con- 
nected w^ith temples erected by the Romans in the 
second or third century of the Christian sera. 

We had diverged from the usual track in order to 
visit the spot at which the Jordan flows into the sea 
of Galilee, intending to follow up the river from its 
junction to the Bridge of J acob, our place of encamp- 
ment for the night. The track was excessively rough 
in some places, and we had even to make our way 
over ledges of rock and thickets, without a vestige 
of any previous path to direct us. This circumstance 
delayed us excessively, and it was long after noon 
before we reached the confluence of the J ordan with 
the lake. We at length emerged from the tangled 
ground, through which the Jordan flows slowly. 
The mountains receded for some little distance, and 
formed open meadows. We passed through a large 
encampment of Arabs tending their flocks and herds, 
and on being questioned, they informed us that we 
might find our way up the stream to the bridge. 
After a short survey, we turned our horses 1 heads in 
that direction, and followed the course of the river 
through a mass of tangled underwood. As to a 
track, I cannot say we were fortunate enough to 
find any for some considerable distance. The river, 
which near the lake flows with moderate velocity, 
soon runs with great swiftness ; and we found that 
from Jacob's Well, where it falls over a ledge of 
rocks, it is borne along a series of rapids for a great 
extent, The banks the whole length of the way, 

L 



218 



BRIDGE OF JACOB. 



and especially the little water-gullies at the mountain 
sides, were profusely decorated with the oleander 
tree, then in full bloom, with large bunches of pink 
flowers, growing without interruption in a luxuriance 
I never saw equalled. I well remember mounting a 
little knoll to enjoy a last look at the scenery at the 
entrance of the lake. The river was foaming and 
dashing through the broad bands of red flowers 
which decorated its banks, and contrasted elegantly 
with the green foliage of the plane and other trees 
amongst which the bushes grew. This gave the 
landscape the appearance of a garden, while the wild 
hills which hemmed us in, and the still more barren 
view in the distance of the desert country to the east 
of the sea of Galilee, formed altogether a scene of a 
peculiar character. As we advanced we found the 
road improve, and, as we mounted hill after hill, we 
were every moment in expectation of seeing our en- 
campment. It was not, however, until 6 p.m. that 
on turning the brow of a hill we caught a distant 
view of the bridge, and a large crowd of people who 
had pitched their tents in the meadow by its side. 
These, we found, belonged to the pilgrims, who had 
reached this point on their return from celebrating 
Easter in the Holy City. 

It was not long before we discovered our own en- 
campment, close by the river in a pretty meadow. 
After a hasty bathe and breakfast in the morning, 
we sent our luggage by the straight road, and crossed 
over to the west side of the river, following its course 
as near as practicable to the lake Hoolee. We had 
no beaten track to follow, and the height of the corn 



LAKE HOOLEE. 



219 



often rendered it impossible to see the direction in 
which we were going. Once we completely lost our 
way in a bad swamp, and had to retrace our steps ; 
and it was not till we discovered an encampment of 
Arabs that we were enabled to find a mode of getting 
out of our difficulty. Whilst we were wandering 
about the marshes, some wild swine rushed out of 
the coarse grass, and made off' at a great pace. 

Hoolee is not above two or three miles long, and 
about the same distance broad. Toward its north, it 
is bounded by marshy land, to avoid which we were 
obliged to make a considerable detour to our right, 
to the base of the range of hills by which the valley 
is bounded. The scenery was fine as we approached 
the slopes of Anti-libanus and Jebel el Sheikh ; the 
ancient Hermon with its snow-clad summit and sides 
made a fine object in our front. We continued under 
the range of hills, unable to cross the valley, as the 
river runs down to its centre, and the marshes render 
it impossible to ford it. Our object was to visit the 
supposed site of the ancient Dan, respecting which 
there has been some doubt, but after keeping on our 
track for three or four hours, we found ourselves still 
at a hopeless distance from the point we wished to 
reach, and were every moment getting more confined 
between the mountains and a branch of the river. 
Day wearing away, and finding it impossible to reach 
our object, we turned to the right, and, fording the 
numerous streams into which the Jordan is here 
divided, at length met with some Arab tents, whence 
we procured a guide to show us by what route we 
should leave the valley in the direction of Kuneytra. 

l 2 



220 



KUNEYTRA. 



I felt much disappointed at not being able to ac- 
complish my wish to go from Dan to Beersheba ; 
but to proceed, with the chance only of finding shelter 
for the night, was out of the question. Crossing, 
therefore, the valley as well as we could, the water 
in the many streams of the J ordan being sometimes 
rather deep, we commenced the toilsome ascent of the 
eastern side, and it was not until nearly sunset that 
we found ourselves coming out on the open table-land 
on the top. Before we bade adieu to the vale of the 
J ordan, we could not help casting a parting look on 
the silver stream of the river and the lake, round 
which we had journeyed all day, with its margin of 
green meadows, and the bare hills toward Nazareth. 
At our right hand we caught a glimpse of Banyas, 
the ancient Csesarea Philippi, and fancied we saw the 
situation of Dan, the site of which is doubtless pre- 
served in the Tell el Kady, both Dan and Cadi signi- 
fying judge, at the sources of the river which were 
just visible; but we had not much time for a survey, 
for before we had crossed the table-land the sun had 
set, and night had come upon us. We at length 
arrived at an Arab encampment, but though we sent 
our Dragoman to ask the favour, we could not prevail 
upon any of them to undertake to conduct us to 
Kuneytra. In another encampment we were, 'how- 
ever, more fortunate, and, under the guidance of one 
of the party, we proceeded on our way. Clad as I 
was in a cool Turkish costume, I felt the night quite 
cold, and was not a little rejoiced when about 9 p.m. 
I saw a light at some distance before us, which proved 
to come from the place we were desirous of reaching. 



SARSA. 



221 



As we approached, some Turkish horsemen rode 
out, but, on being told that we were . English tra- 
vellers, retired as fast as they came. Our labours 
were not, however, quite finished, for the place at 
which we had arrived was simply an enclosure of four 
walls, within which some Arabs and Turks were en- 
camped, the khan having been destroyed a year or 
two previously by Ibrahim Pasha ; and our tents did 
not appear among them. After clambering over 
some ruins, and groping about in all directions, we 
at length saw a light about a quarter of a mile dis- 
tant, and hailing, were rejoiced to hear a voice in 
return. Ali, one of our Dragomen, was coming to 
meet us, but we soon lost sight of him, for he fell 
into a bog, which extinguished his lantern and cost 
him a pair of shoes. 

The next day, having but a short journey to make, 
we were not off at our usual early hour. Few ob- 
jects of interest marked our approach to Sarsa. The 
snowy range of Hermon was a fine object on our left, 
and a lower and more interrupted chain of hills 
bounded our prospect on the right. The track was 
bad, especially when we had to follow the course of 
an old Roman road, now completely broken up and 
filled with holes, reminding me very much of some of 
my journeys in Sicily. About noon we passed the 
pilgrims encamped in a green meadow, it being the 
custom to travel early in the morning and to rest 
during the heat of the day. Our halting-place was a 
small and poor village, much frequented by travellers, 
as it contains an unusually large khan for their re- 
ception. We pitched in a green meadow, with the 



222 



DAMASCUS. 



great advantage of a pretty running stream. The 
next day we expected to reach Damascus, and, start- 
ing early, continued down the great plain, at the end 
of which that ancient city lies. The road became 
much better, but I was much surprised at meeting so 
few persons in approaching so important a place. I 
should have met more coming from any small town 
in England. About noon I first caught a sight of 
the dark foliage which surrounds Damascus, above 
which the minarets were very conspicuous. The last 
two hours before entering the city we passed through 
some of the prettiest country imaginable. Peach, 
apricot, pomegranate, lemon, and a host of other 
fruit trees, were in full bloom, and shaded the pic- 
turesque English-looking lanes, which divided the 
gardens with their luxuriant green hedges. The 
odour from this assemblage of flowers and fruits was 
almost over-powering. I never saw so good a supply 
of water, as a stream was flowing on each side of our 
path to which no doubt the profuse luxuriance of the 
vegetation was owing. 

After a ride of some length through these beautiful 
gardens, we at length arrived on the remains of the 
Roman road, before the gate by which we entered 
the suburbs. The street appeared much wider than 
usual in an Eastern town, but the houses were but 
poor, and the inhabitants evidently of the lowest 
order. We passed from this street, into an extensive 
burial ground, and then we rode for some time on a 
newly raised walk by the side of the wall. At length 
we reached a gate by which we entered, and, passing 
through two or three dirty lanes, we reached the 



DAMASCUS. 



223 



Franciscan convent. We were kindly received by the 
brethren, who are of the Franciscan order and Span- 
iards. We were told that we might make a home of 
their convent as long as we wished, and that every 
thing should be done to make us comfortable. I am 
sure they kept their word, for during the four days 
we stayed with them, we experienced much civility, 
and everything that lay in their power was done to 
please us. The day after our arrival, we called on the 
English consul, whom we were agreeably surprised 
to find domiciled in one of the most splendid houses 
in the town, and a good specimen of the best class of 
Eastern houses. Towards the street, of course, it makes 
no show, there being a high wall with a small grated 
window or two at a great height, and the door is low 
and insignificant. It ushers you, however, by a short 
passage, into a very large and spacious court, paved 
with variously coloured marbles, and interspersed 
with a variety of orange and lemon trees, while vines 
and other creepers twined about the trellis work, and 
afforded a cool and agreeable shade. A few gazelles 
were kept in an enclosure, and in a corner was an 
aviary. In the centre was a fountain, which was 
constantly playing. 

The consul received us kindly, and at the termina- 
tion of our interview, showed us his bath-room and 
best sitting-room, which was not then fitted up, as he 
had not been long in the house. The Turks, who in 
most things like to differ from Europeans, paint the 
sides of their rooms white, while they decorate the 
ceiling most elegantly with the rich and varied tracery 
of Arabesque ornament. In this room, the colours and 



224 



BAZAARS. 



designs were most superb, and, in each of the four cor- 
ners, massive pendants of a peculiar construction, gra- 
dually tapering to a point, terminated the decorations. 

Of the bazaars at Damascus we had heard and 
read much, and expected to find them on a much 
larger scale, and better supplied than any we had yet 
seen. This is the case ; but I have since visited 
Constantinople, to which I must award the palm, for 
the size and length of its bazaars, and the endless 
variety of goods exposed in them. As is usual in 
Eastern towns, each street in Damascus is occupied 
by a particular trade. You enter one bazaar, and 
look down an interminable vista of red and yellow 
slippers ; in another, your eye fixes upon nothing 
but pipe-bowls ; in another tobacco; in another silks; 
in another carpets ; and so on. This plan has its 
advantages, for if you want a particular article, you 
know exactly in which part of the town to procure it, 
and it has its disadvantages, since, if you want to set 
up a smoking apparatus, you have to go to one 
bazaar for a pipe stick; to another for a mouth-piece; 
to a third for a bowl ; to a fourth for the tobacco ; 
until, perhaps, you have wandered half over the town 
to procure the full complement of things for your 
purpose. One or two streets are extremely clean 
and wide for the East, though from the absence of 
any oriental macadamizing, they are wholly unpaved, 
and abound in undulations and holes, which are 
filled with mud after the heavy rains ; and often have 
I been rudely jostled by some squalid looking Turk 
on his gaily-caparisoned mule, and bespattered most 
effectually at the same time by his horse's feet. 



BAZAARS. 



225 



The silk trade is not so flourishing at Damascus 
as it was formerly, though the silks there manufac- 
tured bear a high reputation. I could not help being 
amused with seeing many Manchester Irish linens, 
and shawls from Paisley, exposed for sale ; and even 
in the silk trade, we are beginning to compete with 
the Syrian capital, it being cheaper to send the raw 
material to England, and receive it again in a manu- 
factured state. The undefined and undefinable pic- 
turesque belongs in an excessive degree to this East- 
ern town. Every thing seems to heighten the general 
effect. I am sure the whole of the silk goods in 
Damascus would not equal in value the stock of one 
of our first-rate dealers in the same article, and yet 
there is an impression produced by the gay colours in 
the bazaars, which Regent Street fails to make, and 
white turbaned, red slippered, pink dressed, bearded 
and moustached Turks, seated cross-legged on their 
shop boards in a shop smaller than a large cupboard, 
energetically squabbling for a piaster, as he sells you 
kefia, produces an impression, which all the white neck- 
clothed curled dandies of St. James* 1 Street, with 
their best assortments, are unable to effect. 

Damascus is as yet thoroughly Eastern. The 
stillness in the streets is now and then interrupted by 
the Pasha, or some officer hurrying through with his 
retinue, and the indolent creatures puffing away on 
their shopboards, are roused at times into the painful 
activity elicited as the opportunity of cheating the 
passing Frank traveller presents itself. The Mosques 
are numerous, though not particularly fine. They 
generally consist of a square, around which a cloister 

l 5 



226 



CAFES. 



runs, one part being matted, and containing a pulpit 
and the usual niche, which points in the direction of 
Mecca. In the centre there is a fountain to enable 
the worshippers to perform the necessary ablutions. 
The cafes at Damascus are well worth a visit by any 
one who prizes the luxury of Oriental smoking in 
perfection. They are for the most part situated in 
the suburbs of the town, upon the many streams 
which are formed by the rain falling in the higher 
country, and the melting snow in Lebanon. These 
streams after passing through the plain in which 
Damascus is situated, fall into the Jordan, and 
leave in their course little dry islands which are 
carefully protected from the incursion of the torrent. 
Over them a frame-work, covered by an awning of 
matting is erected, the ground is strewed with carpets, 
upon which the Turks sit, and sometimes, a little 
three-legged stool, on which the coffee pot is placed, 
is offered to the uninitiated Frank. The air is much 
cooled by the artificial water-falls, which causes the 
water to pass you bubbling and foaming. Here, in a 
grove of luxuriant foliage, you may be regaled with 
the luxury of the mild Turkish Chiboot, or the more 
potent fumes of the Persian Nargillah and a cup of 
coffee, for the moderate price of a half-penny. Amongst 
the lions of Damascus, are the house of Ananias, and 
the spot where St. Paul descended in a basket. I 
visited them both, but should be sorry to vouch for 
the identity of either one or the other. The costume 
is chiefly remarkable for the great size and variety 
of the turbans, which are most conspicuous. The 
once famed manufacture of steel blades, so renowned 



HISTORICAL NOTICE. 



227 



in the middle ages, has long since ceased to exist. 
All real Damascus blades, as being antiques, fetch a 
very high price. The Turkish army is now supplied 
from the manufactures at Liege. 

Such is Damascus, more interesting, perhaps, after 
all from its extreme antiquity and ancient renown 
than from anything it contains in itself worthy of 
interest. The situation is unrivalled in fertility, even 
in the luxuriant and fruitful soil of the East ; the 
earth, profusely watered, teems with vegetation, and 
man has nothing to do but regulate the prodigality 
with which nature showers down her gifts. The 
first mention of the city, with which I am acquainted, 
occurs at Genesis xv. 2, which proves it to have 
been a place of note two thousand years b.c At the 
time of David and Solomon, it was the capital of a 
nation who fought with varied success against the 
Jews. After that, Syria became annexed to the 
Assyrian Empire, and passing through the hands of 
the Persians, Romans, Macedonians and Arabians, 
Damascus has never since aspired to the dignity of 
the capital of an Empire. It has, however, even 
under its last masters, the Turks, continued to be a 
place of considerable importance, being the seat of one 
of the four chief Pashalics, into which that empire 
is divided. With the rest of Syria, it passed into 
the hands of Mehemet Ali, or rather his victorious 
son and general, Ibrahim Pasha, till, with the other 
countries that the hoary old tyrant of Egypt had by 
war acquired, it reverted to the Sultan, by the 
terms of the last treaty. With the loss of its once 
famous manufactures, the star of Damascus seems to 



228 



MUSSELMAN BIGOTRY 



have waned, and I heard even a report, that it was no 
longer to be ranked among the Pashalics of the first 
order. What other changes in the government of 
the East may do for this poor old capital, who can 
tell ? But my impression was, that Damascus was 
decreasing, and would still continue to decrease, 
under the withering influence of the Turkish govern- 
ment. 

Some other English travellers arrived during our 
stay, and lodged at an inn, which had been lately 
opened by a Frenchman ; but which, not having 
sufficient custom, has been since closed. The house, 
though on a smaller scale than that I have previously 
described, could boast of an equally elegantly deco- 
rated ceiling, with niches of great richness and variety 
of colour. Over the raised divan, at the end of the 
room, the canopy was very superb. This was used 
as the salle-a-manger, and had a very pretty effect 
when lighted up. The convent hardly requires a 
description. It was entered by the usual low 
door, which led into a small court, containing the 
refectory and offices. From it a staircase ascended 
to the apartments, which opened into a corridor run- 
ning round a second and larger room. The recep- 
tion room was neatly furnished, and the chapel 
quite transported me into Italy. Until Mehemet 
Alfs time, Christians were not allowed to enter 
Damascus on horseback ; that privilege being re- 
served for Musselmen, who are here considered to 
be peculiarly bigoted and intolerant. During Ibra- 
him Pasha's residence here, as governor, it seems 
that some Franks had ventured to enter the city 



AT DAMASCUS. 



229 



on horseback. The zealous worshippers of the pro- 
phet complained to the Pasha of their conduct ; but 
the only redress the more liberal Egyptian vouch- 
safed was, that if they wished to differ from the 
Franks, they might ride upon camels. As we en- 
tered and left the city, the mob ventured on a few 
imprecations on our heads in the name of the Prophet, 
but did nothing more. 



2.30 



LEAVING DAMASCUS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Leaving Damascus. — -Baalbec— Cedars of Lebanon. — Bisheri. — 
Aden. — Tripoli. — Beyrout. 

We limited our stay at Damascus to four days, 
which, husbanded with a little care, we found, I think, 
sufficient to give us a good general impression of the 
city, as well as to view such objects in detail as were 
worth our inspection. We intended to have left the 
convent punctually at seven a.m. May 18th, but the 
delays incident to a party setting off again, took 
place, and it was near nine o'clock before the vari- 
ous articles were safely packed on our mules, and 
before our riding horses were standing ready for us 
to mount at the door. We parted from the inmates 
of the convent, who had been kind and friendly hosts 
to the best of their ability ; and, turning our backs on 
them, as they resumed their usual routine of obser- 
vances, we started for the exciting and stirring in- 
cidents of Eastern travel. The vast and filthy suburbs 
seemed to " drag their weary length " interminably, 
and I thought we were never going to reach the 
gates. Just before leaving the city I stepped aside 
to view one of the finest trees I ever saw. It was a 
plane, and its spread and girth were of gigantic pro- 
portions. At length we reached the gate, not with- * 



LEAVING DAMASCUS. 



231 



out the occasional deep maledictions of the " profa- 
num vulgus," who could not resist taking their pipes 
from their mouths, and some even advanced behind 
us, to utter their imprecations on the infidels. On 
leaving the gate, the road commenced an immediate 
ascent of a toilsome and difficult character, the heat 
being excessive. Soon after eleven a. m. we reached 
the summit, gladly availing ourselves before we turn- 
ed the hill, of the opportunity of a last look at the 
Syrian capital, embosomed in her paradise of gar- 
dens. Who that has seen it can forget the view 
from this point ? The whole city lies spread at 
your feet, silent and still : the proud domes, lofty 
minarets, and arches ornamented with the usual 
Saracenic devices, all lie in the most picturesque 
grouping, with their white forms clear and distinct 
against the golden sky, while a broad band of deep 
green, in which the whole is set, like a fine frame, 
adds a contrast of the most agreeable kind, and gives 
a charm to the whole. 

I could have stayed much longer gazing on the 
fairy scene, but the baggage had gone on, and, with 
my friend, I was obliged to scamper down the sides 
of the hill, in order to overtake it. We had now be- 
gun to ascend the roots of Anti-libanus, passing oc- 
casionally on the top of the barren hills, and some- 
times diversifying the scene, by a most delightful 
dip into some rural sequestered vale teeming with 
fertility. Winding along between the hills, gene- 
rally by the side of a stream, and not seldom through 
the water, which from the melting of the snow at 
this season overflows the road, we at last ascended 



232 



ZEBDANE. 



to an open and barren moor, which took about an 
hour and a half to cross. At its further end we de- 
scended to a village, on the banks of the river, and 
soon entered a deep and narrow defile, by a steep and 
difficult path ; the stream accompanying our path, 
and tumbling occasionally down in a considerable 
volume, over deep ledges of rocks. We observed 
two bridges broken down, and in the face of the 
cliff many tombs, as well as overturned columns, 
a sufficient proof that a town of some importance 
must have been once situated there. On emerging 
from this defile which had continued in a direction 
very little north of west, we turned due north over 
some low hills, and then entered on the broad vale, 
at the end of which Zebdane is situated. The snow- 
capped hills of Mount Hermon we now left behind 
us, but the highest ridges on each side of us were 
still covered with patches of snow. 

As we approached Zebdane, the land bore traces of 
better cultivation : the hedges are nicely kept : the 
vines carefully attended to ; and each vineyard was 
shut by a gate. Indeed, the whole scene, as we 
passed down a long lane between hedges on either 
side, the water bubbling along in the deep rills, 
and the villagers sauntering home from their work, 
reminded me of many a village scene much nearer 
home. As we passed the village, a little crowd col- 
lected in the open place, and in spite of all the pro- 
hibitions of religion, the women rushed to the doors, 
and could not resist indulging their curiosity by a 
glimpse at the strange howagas, A couple of rooms 
were offered us, which a Greek Christian is in the 



BAALBEC. 



233 



habit of letting to travellers, but, as such rooms are 
generally tenanted by vermin, we always declined 
them. Not finding a dry meadow, where we could 
pitch, we encamped in the middle of the village, on a 
dry part of a torrent-bed, the stream flowing round 
us on both sides ; and we passed the night securely. 

The next morning we resumed our route soon after 
seven, and passing through the town, which had no- 
thing of interest to remark, soon entered the narrow 
valley, at the entrance of which Zebclane stands. We 
still followed the stream, by the banks of which we 
had travelled on the day preceding, the bare hills 
closing in, and confining our view. Now and then 
they receded a little, and again approached almost 
to meeting, rendering the features of the landscape, 
as we looked back on the winding defile through 
which we had passed, rugged and desolate. At 
length we turned to the left, and crossing two or 
three high hills thickly planted with fir and pine, 
with deep depressions between them, kept straight 
towards the wide plain, which separated us from 
the snowy line of Lebanon, which bounded our 
horizon. We continued our route for some dis- 
tance across undulations of the same bare and bleak 
character, tenanted by numberless flocks of goats 
feeding on them, until, taking a great bend to the 
north, we found ourselves entering the plain. 

Anxious as we were to get a glimpse of the ruins 
of Baalbec, we could not wait until we turned the 
corner of the low range of hills which intercepted 
our view, and round which the regular path lay, 
but spurring our horses on, we rushed up the steep 



234 



GIGANTIC KUINS 



ascent of the hill, behind which we thought Baalbec 
must lie ; and well were we repaid. Passing a 
burial-ground, we soon reached the crown of the 
hill ; the wide plain gradually opened before us ; 
and in another minute the six gigantic columns, 
well known as the glory of Baalbec, were in view. 
We remained some moments to feast our eyes on 
the imposing character of the scene, and then ad- 
vanced down the other side. The sun was just 
gilding the snowy range of Lebanon with his last 
rays as we descended into the plain, while the ruins 
of the gigantic columns as seen from the top of 
the hill, standing out from the wilderness of ruins 
in a fine dark relief against the clear sky, seemed 
the only object on which the eye cared to rest. 
They soon fell behind the massive walls, and were 
lost in the indistinct mass before us. We presently 
arrived at the miserable collection of huts which 
constitute the village, and threading our way through 
the intricate windings, at length emerged by the mas- 
sive Saracenic walls, on the south-side. Here we 
found a green spot, on which we encamped, about a 
hundred yards from another party, who had arrived 
by a different route from Jerusalem. 

To judge from the immense extent of the ruins, 
the town of Baalbec must have been a place of great 
importance. The situation is in its favour, as it lies 
in a delicious plain which separates Lebanon from 
Anti-libanus, and extends nearly to the sea. Near 
the ruins is a fine perennial fountain, which, with the 
waters of the Litanus which pass by Baalbec, and, 
eventually joined by other streams, fall into the sea 



OF BAALBEC. 



235 



near Tyre, must have rendered the city healthy and 
the soil fertile. It once commanded a considerable 
trade with the East, and was used by the Romans 
as an emporium for carrying on their traffic with 
India and Palmyra. Its origin is beyond the age of 
History, but it is generally attributed to the Phoe- 
nicians. The temple, or temples, is an immense pile, 
mostly now in ruins, and containing in its walls and 
various buildings specimens of almost every age of 
architecture, quite awing, with the colossal propor- 
tions of some of their parts, the modern traveller. 
At the west-end of the extensive wall are the Cyclo- 
pean remains, as those gigantic works are called, 
whose antiquity defies historical research. The stones 
which compose them are of a size perfectly incredible ; 
and, singularly enough, the most gigantic individuals 
are not in the lowest tier. I measured four or five 
of them, and found them varying from sixty-two to 
sixty-eight feet in length, and about ten feet in 
height. These gigantic stones occupy a considerable 
portion of the west and north-west sides of the tem- 
ple. The other parts contain specimens of Roman 
work, though they are for the most part a confused 
patchwork put together in haste by the Saracens — 
capitals, entablatures, bases, and inscriptions, being 
built into the walls and defences in unseemly con- 
fusion, the only object being to render it a secure 
place of defence for its possessors during the quick 
and bloody revolutions which in the middle ages so 
often disturbed the East. 

The great temple, two hundred and ninety feet 
long, and one hundred and sixty wide, stands on the 



2S6 



DESCRIPTION OF 



western side of the enclosure. When perfect, it had 
ten Corinthian columns in front, and nineteen at its 
side, each column with its base and entablature being 
upwards of eighty feet high. Three hundred years 
ago the traveller saw twenty-seven of these magni- 
ficent pillars still standing, and subsequent visitors at 
Baalbec saw nine. Many years, however, have 
elapsed since the present six have been left alone in 
their glory, the admiration of every beholder, " strik- 
ing the mind," as old Maundrell says, " with an air 
of greatness beyond anything that he ever saw before, 
and an eminent proof of the magnificence of ancient 
architecture." The smaller temple is one of exquisite 
richness and beauty, and its magnificent portal most 
elaborately cut with a vast variety of mouldings has 
often attracted the description and pencil of the 
Eastern traveller. It is smaller and more perfect 
than the other, having eight columns in front, and 
fifteen on the sides, and measuring about two hun- 
dred feet long, and one hundred wide. 

We entered the doorway, of matchless elegance 
yet, with all the enriched details of its mouldings, 
not heavy, in order to survey the interior, which is 
also most elegantly and exquisitely finished. The 
keystone of the doorway has slipped from its position 
from the effects of an earthquake, and hangs in a 
menacing attitude over your head, as you pass under 
it. An eagle is carved on it, holding in his talons 
what is called a caduceus. As you enter, at the 
angles by the door are double pilasters with capitals 
cut in a most finished manner, and the whole length 
of the wall on each side is relieved by six single 



THE TEMPLES. 



237 



fluted pilasters, between each of which are semi- 
circular pediments, very much ornamented. The in- 
termediate spaces are occupied by ornamental semi- 
circular pediments over false doorways, or recesses, 
and below the projecting base of these doorways 
pediments again occur with superbly enriched mould- 
ings. This arrangement terminates about three- 
fourths of the whole extent of the temple, where, 
near the altar, commences an arcade of two arches on 
either side, separated by pilasters, on the capitals of 
which they rest. Under each of them are the usual 
recesses, with elegant projecting bases, but without 
pediments. The various other remains scattered over 
the vast area occupied by the ancient temple, defy 
such limited research as the passing traveller is able 
to make ; pillars and capitals lie in interminable con- 
fusion ; and even after lengthened and accurate sur- 
vey, the antiquary is not able to decide whether the 
remains before him are those of the fora with their 
porticos in which the merchants of the East trans- 
acted their business, protected from the scorching 
heat, or were the residences of the priests of the sun. 
The architecture, however, in such parts as are left 
standing towards the northern and eastern parts at- 
tract attention, as being of that peculiar transition 
character which the late Roman art assumed when 
the Grecian horizontal lines were wholly laid aside. 
The intercolumniary arch succeeded, and the rudi- 
ments of that style were just visible, which under the 
various forms of Byzantine, Saracenic, and Norman, 
was destined in Europe to be the parent of the point- 
ed Gothic, the perfection of Christian and Ecclesias- 



238 



BAALBEC. 



tical architecture. Leaving the area of the temples 
by the regular entrance, we took a circuit of the 
walls, observing the inscription to Antoninus Pius, 
which has been so often before remarked ; and near 
this point, having procured lights, we clambered up 
to an aperture about seven feet from the ground, and 
entered the building. Groping our way through a 
passage, we at length reached a dark apartment 
much ornamented, but from the accumulation of filth 
half choked up, and so close and . disagreeable, that 
we were glad, after no long stay, to make our escape. 
In a similar apartment, only more accessible, we 
found an Arab family taking up their residence. 
About a mile distant from the temple is the quarry 
from which the gigantic stones were brought which 
had so excited our admiration. We repaired to the 
spot, and surveyed with astonishment the complete 
mountain which had been excavated for building pur- 
poses, reminding us most forcibly of the no less gi- 
gantic efforts of the chisel at Hadyar Silsili. The 
great attraction, however, is one stone, " the last rose 
of summer," which has been cut from its parent bed, 
and by some wonderful mechanical power, with which 
their successors have been unacquainted, has been 
moved some fifty yards in the quarry, and there left, 
some sudden stop having been put to the Cyclopean 
work. - 1 measured the monster before me, and found 
it to be sixty-seven feet long, twelve feet high, and 
much the same in breadth, — dimensions, in compari- 
son of which the greatest masses which modern me- 
chanical skill has been able to move, sink into insig- 
nificance. 



BAALBEC. 



239 



Our time being limited, I rose early on the last 
morning I passed in the neighbourhood of these mag- 
nificent ruins, and proceeded to take a farewell look 
at them. 

" Hsec olim meminisse juvabit." 

I then retraced my steps to our starting place, 
reaching it about half past seven, and found that 
although the mules were in readiness to convey us, 
no one was able to direct us in the proper road that 
we should take, the ordinary one having been ren- 
dered impassable. The delay occasioned by this oc- 
currence gave me an opportunity of paying another 
visit to the smaller temple, whose Corinthian columns 
still standing had so charmed me. Having at last 
procured a man to guide us, we made a circuit of the 
western side of the temple, and began to cross the 
great plain that lay between us and Lebanon. This 
took us about four hours and a half, and when we 
had reached the village on the opposite side, we could 
still clearly distinguish the distant ruins of Baalbec. 
Having despatched our guide, who did not know 
even the way across the plain, and procured another 
in his room, we began the ascent of Mount Libanus 
among forests of dwarf oaks and other trees, along a 
pretty winding path, and after descending by another 
we came out on a small plain. Ascending again, we 
arrived at a stream of water, with which we all 
stopped to refresh ourselves, and pursued the route 
up the mountain, which had now become very diffi- 
cult for a traveller on horseback, since a false step 
might send him many feet down the hill ; but the 



240 



DISTANT VIEWS OF LEBANON. 



ease with which our baggage mules ascended loaded 
as they were, was truly surprising. The road, wind- 
ing along the very ridge of the hill, opened to our 
view the lower ranges of it over which we had passed 
in the morning, presenting a full view of the plain we 
had crossed, and of the ruins of Baalbec at the fur- 
ther end of it, rendered visible only by its grove of 
trees, and the heights of Anti-libanus behind. After 
an ascent for about an hour from the water, our path 
was somewhat interrupted by the snow, which lay in 
patches of forty or fifty feet in the hollows on the 
mountain's side, and was only sufficiently melted to 
give an insecure footing to the mules. This obliged 
us to dismount and walk, our feet slipping in at every 
instant. The mules managed wonderfully, though 
some fell back, without, however, doing any damage 
to our luggage. Another hour brought us, through 
four or five more snow-drifts, to the top. 

From this point is a most commanding view of 
the distant ridges of Lebanon : on the right and before 
us was a deep and precipitous gorge, down the sides 
of which the swollen mountain streams were pouring 
with a considerable fall, until, at length, they all 
joined at the bottom of the ravine, and found their 
way into the plain country below, in a wide and im- 
petuous torrent. The sides were prettily clothed 
with olive, mulberry, and other trees, amongst which 
the villages were occasionally just visible, while 
higher up the steep, some old fortress or convent, 
from its secure perch, frowned on the vale below. 
The banks of the torrent bed varying much in width, 
was green with the ripening corn, which formed a 



THE CEDARS OF LEBANON. 



241 



considerable contrast to the more rugged scenery of 
the heights. I have wandered in the Tyrol and the 
mountainous parts of Austria, and well do I recollect 
the picturesque mountain scenery, with the happiest 
combination of wood and water ; yet I do think there 
were occasional peeps in Lebanon, which might vie 
with any of the most famed of those most enchanting 
spots. 

We had now crossed the highest ridge, and, after 
having sufficiently enjoyed the delightful prospect 
before us, began the descent towards the cedars. 
Our route lay to the right, by a steep path, with 
ridges of stone nearly impassable, and it was not till 
about four p. m., that we reached the deep green spot 
of wood which we had seen from the top. The 
cedars of Lebanon are a clump of about two hundred 
of these trees, which are said to have once covered 
considerable tracts of this mountainous district, and 
occasional instances are still found in other parts. 
They have in all ages been much sought after 
for the purposes of building. Hyram, king of Tyre, 
gave Solomon an unlimited grant for the temple 
he was erecting. Cedar has been much used in 
the Eastern churches, and the church now building 
at Jerusalem was to have been roofed with the 
same material, which the Turkish authorities had 
granted for the purpose. Some of the trees still 
standing are commonly said to be as old as the 
time of Solomon, and to be those from which he 
selected his materials. I have a doubt myself, that 
any one of them can boast such remote antiquity, 
though, perhaps, some few can claim the venerable 

M 



242 



BISHERI. 



age of two thousand years. The greater part are of 
much younger standing, and there were some of but 
a comparatively recent date. They are propagated 
by the chance deposit of seeds ; and, were it not for 
the inroads made on them for various purposes, the 
cedars of Lebanon would, doubtless, extend over a 
much larger space. The soil in which they grow 
is a red clay, very similar to the soil of that cha- 
racter in Devonshire, in which the cedar thrives so well. 

Dismounting from our horses, we held a consulta- 
tion as to our future movements ; as we found that a 
party of English travellers were already encamped in 
the middle of the wood, and the day was now declining. 
The result was, however, that we determined to 
content ourselves with such a survey as time would 
permit, and push on to Bisheri, to encamp for the 
night. The view as we descended from the cedars 
to the village, about three miles off, was most lovely. 
Every component part of the picturesque, and in its 
just proportions, wood, water, fertility and bare out- 
line, all came into the landscape and heightened the 
beauty. I wish I could say as much for the roads; 
they were execrable, and our descent seemed to be 
in a worn torrent bed, on ledges or steep stone stairs, 
a foot or two deep in water. Even in the village 
itself, from the melting of the snows, the streets were 
ankle-deep in mud. We had delayed for some time 
in order to catch the last view, which the expiring 
daylight would allow us, of the beautiful scene 
through which we had passed, so that it was quite 
dark before we got into the village. Here we were 
paddling about for some time up and down the streets, 



START FOR KANOBIN. 



243 



before we could get any one to direct us to our en- 
campment, which had been pitched somewhere on 
the other side of the town. We at length reached it 
a little above the village, in an olive garden, with a 
torrent of considerable size foaming down from the 
mountain side, within ten yards of it. Part of our 
baggage was arrived ; but the most essential part to a 
weary traveller, the cook, culinary apparatus, and eat- 
ables, were still detained by the badness of the road. 
I had been fourteen hours on horseback, and was glad 
enough to get something to satisfy the cravings of 
hunger in another tent. It was not until after nine 
that our cook and kitchen arrived, and we took our 
dinner at the fashionable hour of ten. 

In the morning a party with whom we had fallen 
in on the way, started on the direct road for Tripoli, 
whilst my friend and myself remained the greater 
part of Sunday morning quiet in our tents, not 
leaving until one p.m. The arrangements were 
finally made, that the luggage should proceed by the 
direct road to Aden, while, with the assistance of a 
guide, we should make a detour for the purpose of 
visiting the convent at Kanobin. We followed a 
track for about two hours and a half along the edge 
of the lovely valley which we had seen the previ- 
ous evening; our road lying through sloping corn- 
fields, and terraces of olive-trees, and vineyards, with 
a swollen torrent foaming below us. After some 
distance the road to Aden turned to the right, 
while another track diverged at right angles down 
the side of the gorge to the left. The descent was 
so precipitous that we soon found it impossible to 

M 2 



244 



CONVENT. 



ride down, it being quite a staircase, and that a 
steep one. The whole side of the hill was planted 
with dwarf oaks and other trees ; and, after winding- 
most circuitously for about an hour, we at length 
reached the far-famed convent of Kanobin. 

I think I had heard so much of its romantic situa- 
tion that I was a little disposed to be disappointed, 
and could not help comparing it with La Cava near 
Naples, to which latter I give the preference, though 
there is a lovely peep from the front of Kanobin 
up and down the ravine, which might well tempt the 
lover of nature to be enthusiastic. On arriving at 
the door, w r e found it invitingly open, and, failing 
to bring any one by repeated knockings, I entered, 
and even then it was a long time before I could dis- 
cover whether the place was not wholly deserted. 
After trying all the doors in a long passage, one at 
length yielded to my touch ; and, opening it, I dis- 
covered a person, (I suppose a padre,) through a 
cloud of smoke in a small dirty dusty room. On 
informing him, partially by signs, that I was come to 
see the convent, and should be glad of some refresh- 
ment, he sent for the key of the room dedicated 
to the reception of strangers, and, having escorted 
us to the Divan at the further end, desired us to be 
seated, at the same time filling for our use some of 
the pipes which were lying about in all directions, 
and giving orders for some refreshment. During the 
preparation of the meal I endeavoured to enter into 
conversation with our host ; but as he knew nothing 
but Syriac, and as my knowledge of that language 
was confined to the names of a few necessaries, I 



VALE OF ADEN. 



245 



found we had no medium by which we could com- 
municate our thoughts to each other. I cannot say 
I was much prepossessed with either the appearance 
or the deportment of our host ; nor was the entertain- 
ment of a very inviting character, consisting as it did 
of four eggs, some coarse bread, and a little poor wine 
for four persons. Having despatched our eatables, 
and taken a cursory survey of the building, we bade 
adieu to our friend the monk of Kanobin, who, unless 
he treats himself to something better than he is accus- 
tomed to give to travellers, will hardly keep up the 
character of the convent for good cheer. 

Retracing our steps up the difficult ascent, with an 
occasional halt to enjoy the delicious view beneath us, 
we at length regained the road, and turning immedi- 
ately to the right over an ascent equally steep and 
rugged, soon came in sight of the lovely vale of Aden, 
one of the most picturesque spots in Lebanon. You 
naturally expect something supremely enchanting 
from a spot which has claimed to perpetuate the 
name of the Paradise in which our first parents were 
placed; and very lovely it is, though I am not aware 
that it can boast any pre-eminence, which many 
other spots in this delightful region may not lay 
claim to. The air, as we threaded our way along 
the side of the vale, was deliciously scented with a 
profuse variety of wild flowers and opening blossoms, 
no less pleasing from their infinite variety of colour 
than their powerful odour. At length, after a most 
lovely ride, we descended to the village of Ben, con- 
cealed in the foliage. It being Sunday, the villagers 
were loitering about in their best gear, or standing in 



246 



VILLAGE OF ADEN. 



small knots under one or two very fine planes which 
shaded the little village green. Here and there were 
groups of young women sitting upon their house-tops, 
enjoying the cool evening breeze, in their picturesque 
variety of oriental costume, and among whom, as 
they raised their heads to catch a glimpse of the 
Franks, I observed many a dark expressive pair of 
eyes and beautifully-formed features, which, I should 
think, the Lotharios of Lebanon must have difficulty 
in resisting. We repeatedly stopped to inquire our 
way, which, from the swollen state of the torrents, 
was rather intricate, and always received a civil salu- 
tation and ready answer. Indeed, during the whole 
of my tour in Lebanon I was much prepossessed by 
the courteous behaviour and unaffected kindness of 
the inhabitants. 

Descending still, we crossed the stream at the bot- 
tom of the valley, and then ascended to the village of 
Aden. Here we found our tents on a pretty green 
not far from a plain Maronite church, and just below 
the residence of the chief man of the village, a French- 
man by descent. When we paid him a visit, he was 
in great fear of the Turkish soldiers, who had just com- 
menced their rapacious extortions on the defenceless 
inhabitants of Lebanon, and from whom he hourly ex- 
pected a visit. About seven a.m. we commenced the 
descent -of the eastern side of Lebanon. The road 
was very bad, through forests of fine cypress, ever- 
green oak, and other dwarf timber, but at intervals 
commanding fine views of the coast towards Tripoli. 
By two o** clock we had emerged on the plain below 
us and Tripoli, and soon after four we entered the 



ARRIVAL AT BEYROUT. 



247 



town itself, through which the waters of the Litanus 
flow with a stream of considerable size. 

" The smooth Adonis from his native soil ran purple to the 
sea." 

We passed through the narrow streets, and pitched 
in a garden just outside the town. Here some of my 
friends determined on taking a boat direct to Tripoli, 
whilst the rest of us preferred the more circuitous 
route by land. After dinner they started, and we 
found on our arrival at Beyrout that they had made 
a prosperous voyage, in about fourteen hours. 

May 25. — We started for Beyrout about six a. m., 
expecting to make a long journey and to arrive there 
early on the second day. We found it longer than 
we intended. On our route we passed the village of 
Petune, where the plague was raging, but did not 
enter it; and, keeping along the coast, we passed Dje- 
bail, and encamped on the shore about half past six, 
having satisfied a guardiano, who came up to us, 
that we had not been in an infected place. Conti- 
nuing our journey the next day along the coast, we 
passed two or three villages and came at length to 
the Bahr El Kelb. Hard by we forded the river, 
which runs along by the over-hanging mountain side 
for some distance. Here are the remains of some an- 
cient inscriptions, among which three are Egyptian, 
nearly illegible, but yet enabling a careful investi- 
gator to trace out the name of " Rameses the Second," 
in the usual hieroglyphics. The deep and sharp 
cutting of the stone, however, sufficiently point out 
the sera of that king as the probable date of it.* 
* See Appendix, G. 



248 PROPHETIC DENUNCIATIONS FULFILLED. 

Not far off is the figure of a warrior amid devices 
and emblems. An inscription in Persepolitan arrow- 
headed characters, now nearly obliterated, covers the 
tablet. Who the hero is, is a " vexata questio." 
Another hour brought us in sight of the luxuriant 
groves amongst which the white buildings of Beyrout 
were just visible ; in the offing were four or five ships 
of war, and steamers, lying motionless on the un- 
ruffled sea ; and in one hour more we were unpack- 
ing our mules, for the last time, at the door of 
the only inn in the place, previous to our depar- 
ture from the East. 

And now, if the reader has had patience to follow 
me thus far, I will bid him adieu at Beyrout. I 
feel deeply thankful to a kind Providence, which 
has preserved me through the interesting countries of 
the East ; from dangers known, and unknown, and has 
raised me up in distant lands, kind friends. To the 
scenes of my travels my thoughts often recur ; never, 
I believe, without increasing pleasure. The fulfil- 
ment of prophecy is no longer to me " the hearing of 
the ear : " there is a reality, a vivid picture before 
my eyes, in the awful denunciations of the prophets, 
and a faithfulness in the descriptions of the Bible, 
which none but an Eastern traveller can appreciate. 
I have seen countries, which were the joy of all 
lands, mournful and desolate ; Egypt, the basest 
of all kingdoms ; Edom, an utter desolation ; and 
the Holy City, trodden down of the Gentiles. On 
the lesson which it teaches, it were needless to en- 
large, " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
perish." 



APPENDIX. 



m 5 



APPENDIX. 



A, page 23. 

The great Pyramid was built by a king who is 
called " Suphis" on the hieroglyphics, but " Cheops " 
in Greek,* more than 2100 b. c, and was intended 
as a resting-place for his body after death. The 
size of the building is so utterly disproportionate to 
this purpose, that various suggestions have arisen 
upon the subject, which have been neither verified 

* To account for the different versions of the names, it must be 
remembered, that the vowels are merely arbitrary insertions, and, 
if we take them away, the words resolve themselves thus, — S p h s 
and C h p s, sufficiently alike, it must be granted, to explain the 
variety of reading. The founder of the second pyramid is called 
by Herodotus "Cephrenes," but in the hieroglyphics "Sen 
Suphis." Now, leaving out the vowels, these words appear thus, 
Cphrns, and Snsphs. The end of the word Herodotus 
seems to have read backwards, "nes" for "sen." I cannot ac- 
count, however, for his putting the r in the place of the s. The 
change of the s into a c may be easily understood, since the letters 
are so nearly related. The Greeks, we know, changed letters 
for the sake of euphony. We can suppose that Herodotus has 
done so in this case, or, as is not improbable, he may have kept a 
defective journal, and thus, by a little carelessness, have imposed 
so much unsatisfactory labour on subsequent antiquarians. 



252 



APPENDIX. 



by a clear historical account, nor strengthened by 
actual observation. It has been stated to have been 
built as a treasure-house, or a fortress, or to have served 
these purposes, at the same time that it formed a 
resting-place for the remains of the Egyptian king. 
Herodotus is the earliest author who enters into any 
detailed description of the Pyramid, and the mode 
of its erection. His statement is, that Cheops, a bad 
and tyrannous monarch, debarred his people from 
approaching the temples to offer their usual sacred 
rites ; and that, after that, he compelled all the 
Egyptians to work for him : that he obliged them 
to hew stones from the quarries in the chain of 
mountains on the eastern side of the Nile ; to drag 
them to the river, where they were taken across, 
and, being received on the other side, were conveyed 
to the Libyan range. He further states, that the 
men worked in parties of one hundred thousand for 
three months, and that, during the time that the 
persecution lasted, ten years were occupied in the con- 
struction of the causeway along which the stone was 
conveyed — ( u a work in my estimation," he says, 
" scarcely inferior to the Pyramid itself") — and the 
subterraneous chamber upon the plateau on which the 
Pyramid stands, where the king made an insular cata- 
comb for himself, by introducing the waters of the Nile. 
The causeway was five stadia long, and ten fathoms 
broad, the greatest height being eight fathoms ; and 
was covered with polished stone with animals sculp- 
tured on it. The Pyramid itself, he states, occu- 
pied twenty years in building. It stood on a base 
of eight plethra square, and was of the same 



APPENDIX. 



253 



height ; and was constructed of polished and well- 
fitted stones, not one of them being less than thirty 
feet in length. The Pyramid was thus built in the 
form of steps ; and when they had finished it in this 
manner, they raised the " remaining stones'" by 
machines constructed of short pieces of wood, by 
means of which the stones were raised step by step, 
until they arrived at their destination. There were 
as many machines as there were tiers of stones. By 
another account, which Herodotus mentions, (think- 
ing it right, as he says, to give both accounts as he 
heard them,) they raised the same machine from 
step to step, as it w r as easily moved. " Thus," he 
proceeds, " the highest parts were finished first, and 
then each part in succession, until at length they 
finished the parts resting on the earth and the 
lowest. " The historian goes on to state, the enor- 
mous consumption of radishes, onions, and garlic,* 
which, he says, his interpreter informed him, amount- 
ed to sixteen hundred talents of silver, without 
taking into consideration other incidental expenses, 
and those connected with bringing the stones from 
the quarry ; although of the exterior coating of the 
Pyramid not a vestige now remains entire on the 
building itself or in the vicinity. Abd AllatifF re- 
lates, at the commencement of the thirteenth century, 

* You would hardly expect these to be mentioned as an arti- 
cle of food, being little in accordance with the statement of Ju- 
venal, 

" Porrum et cepe nefas violare et frangere morsu," 

which is to be restricted to the priests. I wish the restriction 
had extended to Arab boatmen. 



254 



APPENDIX. 



that it existed, and was covered with such a pro- 
fusion of unintelligible hieroglyphics, that it would 
require more than ten thousand pages to copy those 
only which cover the surface of the two Pyramids. It 
is difficult to ascertain when the coating was injured, 
and the testimony of travellers is contradictory as 
to the time of its removal. Vanleb, as late as 
1672, even asserts that he saw hieroglyphics upon 
the Pyramids, though he had no time to copy them ; 
whilst others, before his time, record their disappear- 
ance. They have all now vanished in the true 
Arabian Nights' style. 

With respect to the measurements which he gives, 
the Greek traveller is strangely incorrect ; the ver- 
tical height of the great Pyramid being at present 
four hundred and fifty-six feet to the top of the 
platform, the entire pyramid having been four hundred 
and seventy-nine feet high, while the length of the * 
side is upwards of seven hundred. As to the length 
of the causeway, (five stadia) less than three-quarters 
of a mile, as given by Herodotus, I am at a loss 
in any way to account for his measurement ; the 
distance from the banks of the Nile to the great 
Pyramid being nearly two hours' fast donkey-riding, 
at least eight miles. Karakoosh, engineer, and Ameer 
to Saladin, and builder of the wall round Cairo and 
the citadel, with the materials from the small pyra- 
mids which had been demolished, erected a raised 
way six miles from the Nile, till it joined the arches. 
Niebuhr observed between Djizeh and the Pyramids 
two bridges of ten arches each, and at each end, 
and between the bridges a causeway of masonry, 



APPENDIX. 



255 



partly of brick, and partly of hewn stone, thirteen 
hundred double steps long. Mr. Norden, who ob- 
served them, recognized in them the work of the 
Mahometans. Pococke, however, erroneously iden- 
tifies this with the causeway which Herodotus de- 
scribes. It is singular that of so vast an undertaking 
not a vestige should now remain. 

The character of cruelty and tyranny attributed 
by Herodotus to Cheops and Oephrenes wonder- 
fully coincides with the persecuting rule of the Shep- 
herd Kings as it is described by J osephus in his quota- 
tion from Manetho, who, however, finds great fault 
with Herodotus for his ignorance and false relations of 
Egyptian affairs ; but yet falls into the same error, 
as did J osephus after him, of confounding the Shep- 
herd Kings with the Jews. His account is, " Under 
a king named Timseus, men of ignoble birth came 
out of the Eastern parts, and had boldness enough 
to make an expedition into our country, and with 
ease subdued it by force, yet without our hazard- 
ing a battle with them. So, when they had gotten 
those that governed us under our power, they after- 
wards burnt down our cities, and demolished the 
temples of the Gods, and used all the inhabitants 
after a most barbarous manner; nay, some they slew, 
and led their children and wives into slavery. At 
length, they made one of themselves, called Salatis, 
king, who resided at Memphis, and made both the 
upper and lower regions pay tribute, and left garri- 
sons in places the most proper for them" 

These invaders kept possession of Egypt five hun- 
dred and eleven years, but the kings of Thebais and 



256 



APPENDIX. 



the other parts, at length, after a long war, drove them 
out to the number of two hundred and forty thousand, 
and they took their journey from Egypt through the 
wilderness for Syria, but fearing the Assyrians, who 
then were powerful, they built a city in the country 
which is now called Judea, and that large enough to 
contain this great number of men, and called it Jeru- 
salem. Josephus, intent upon proving the antiquity 
of his own nation, sees in this invasion and final ex- 
pulsion of the Shepherd Kings, the residence and 
exodus of the Israelites in Egypt, — an opinion to 
which few at the present day would subscribe. 

Much learning and research have been expended 
by Wilford and others, (see Asiatic Researches, vol. 
iii.p. 226, Maurice's Hindostan, &c.) to prove, by refer- 
ences to Sanscrit, that these shepherd invaders were 
the ancestors of the Pallibothrse or Palliputree, once 
a numerous and powerful tribe of Indians, whose 
dominion extended from the Indus, or at least from 
the most easterly river of the Punjab, to the eastern 
limits of Bengal, but who are now represented by 
the Palis and Bhils, to the south and southwest 
of Benares, an outcast and despised people. To 
support this theory, it is conjectured that Palestine 
should be written Pali-sthan, "the land of shepherds," 
as AfFghani-sthan, Kurdi-sthan, Mirza-sthan, (Egypt,) 
stha beirig the Sanscrit word for country, and Pali, 
from Pala, a protector, meaning in the same language 
shepherds. Goshen is also derived from a Sanscrit 
root, and affirmed to mean the abode of shepherds. 
I think the age of these words may be too remote to 
admit of any illustration from Sanscrit, Go is kuh, 



APPENDIX. 



257 



Angl. cow ; and stha, stare, to stay, whence Sthana, 
a place or country ; the i in the words prefixed 
being the sign of the genitive case. But again, the 
word Palestine is derived from the Palsestina of the 
Greeks and Romans, and that from Philistina, for 
the traders of those nations coming in contact with 
the Philistines, who inhabited the coast of Syria, 
presumed the interior to be possessed by the same 
nation; whence the word Palestine has received a 
wider signification, and I believe here all analogy 
fails. The Philistines were only third in descent from 
Ham, through Mizraim and Oasluhim or Caphtorim 
(see Gen. x. 14., 1 Chron. i. 12), and their original 
country must be looked for in Egypt. Pathrusim 
peopled the Thebaid, or Pathros; Oasluhim, some 
part more to the north, said to be Sais ; while the 
Caphtorim are to be found in Lower Egypt, on the 
shores of the Mediterranean. Copt and Coptos seem 
connected with this people. The Targums of Jeru- 
salem, and Jonathan on Gen. x. 14, for Caphtorim 
read Cappadokia, but the Arabic reads Damiatenos. 
Rarnbam says, " Caphtor is what is called by the 
Arabians, Damiata (Pelusium). All this may be 
explained, by supposing that the Caphtorim or Philis- 
tines, (" the remnant of the country of Caphtor,") who 
from Ezek. xxv. 16, 1 Sam. xxx. 14. 15, appear to be 
the same as the Cherethites or Cretans, originally 
colonized that isle, and passed over into Cappadocia, 
as well as spread themselves over Lower Egypt. 
The Septuagint always translates Philistine by 
aXXo^uAo;, strangers, though in Abraham's time they 
were already in possession of a considerable tract at 



258 



APPENDIX. 



the south of the Holy Land. On so early an event 
as the irruption of the Shepherd Kings, and in the 
face of so many contradictory statements, and con- 
flicting opinions of the learned, it would be presump- 
tion to expect to throw any light. I, however, strongly 
incline to the belief, that these shepherds did not 
come from the distant regions of Scythia or India, 
but that they were the Philistines who passed back 
from the northern shores of the Mediterranean 
to the coast of Syria, and thence, perhaps led by 
some tradition of their ancient origin, or from some 
other cause, passed into Egypt, seized upon the 
fairest portion of the land, and, at length, after five 
centuries of tyrannous rule, were expelled by a gene- 
ral insurrection. The account which Herodotus gives 
of the shepherd " Philition," who built the Pyra- 
mids, and fed his flocks in its neighbourhood, inclines 
me to think that the Shepherd Kings were the build- 
ers of the Pyramids, but that the national and generic 
name, Philistine, had, in the long course of tradition, 
been changed into the individual Philition or Philites, 
much, I conceive, as the exploits of many an Egyptian 
hero, who called himself Se-Osiris, or the son of 
Osiris, may have gone to form the aggregate charac- 
ter of the warlike Sesostris. Of the date of the in- 
vasion and expulsion of these shepherds, it is impossi- 
ble to speak with much certainty. Was the Pha- 
raoh at the time of the going down of the children of 
Israel into Egypt, one of the Hycsos or not? Some 
have strongly supported that he was, and argue from 
the facility with which a large tract of land was 
granted to the newly arrived people, that, by the 



APPENDIX. 



259 



recent expulsion of these shepherds, the land of 
Goshen, the best of the land, was unoccupied and 
given to these strangers, with whom, as following 
the occupation of shepherds, the Egyptians were not 
willing to mix, and thus the Israelites were kept a 
distinct people. Others have considered the Pharaoh 
who received the famine-driven children of Israel, 
to be one of the Hycsos; and, indeed, it is extraordi- 
nary that Joseph, on presenting his father and 
brethren to the king, was careful to tell him that 
their trade was to feed cattle, and that they had 
brought their flocks and herds with them, while, at 
the same time, he knew that shepherds were so hate- 
ful to the people, unless the case was, that though 
the native Egyptians hated shepherds, yet the king 
would look favourably upon those who followed the 
occupation to which his nation was accustomed, Gen. 
xlvi. S3, 34. It is considered by Wilkinson, Rossel- 
lini, and others, that Amosis or Amenophis, the 
founder of the eighteenth dynasty, was the new king 
over Egypt which knew not Joseph; that he had 
expelled the Hycsos, who correspond to the seven- 
teenth dynasty, but that these shepherds continuing 
for some time their attempts to recover their lost do- 
minion, from policy, he afflicted the children of Israel, 
lest, in case of a war, they should join the enemies of 
Egypt. 



260 



APPENDIX. 



B, page 50. 

Before we proceed further, some short account of 
the Nubians may not prove uninteresting. They, 
as well as the inhabitants of Northern Africa, are 
called by the Arabs Barabera, and their language 
the Berber language. Whether the Greek SupSupog, 
and the Latin barharus, are derived from this word, 
as the name of a distant and uncivilized people, and 
thence used of all savage nations, as we use the 
word Hottentot, or that the more civilized Jews of 
Spain got it from the Bomans and used it in speak- 
ing of their neighbours across the straits, (for the 
first application of the word to this people, is made 
by Arab historians of the ninth century,) is a ques- 
tion. It is singular, however, that neither the Nu- 
bians nor those of the inhabitants of the Atlas range, 
who speak the Berber languages, call themselves Ba- 
rabra. The Nubians call their country Wady-el- 
Nouba, and themselves Nouba, and the Berbers of 
North Africa designate themselves as Amaz-irgh, or 
free, (probably the " Maxyes" of Herodotus;) and 
from the fact of their not using the word Berber in 
speaking of themselves, it is to be inferred that the 
name has been given to them in later times by fo- 
reign nations. The traditions of the Berbers, as 
well as the Arabian historians, represent them as 
coming from nations in the land of Canaan, from 
whom they claim descent, and they are variously 
reputed to be the original settlers in the parts where 
they are now found ; to be the remnants of the na- 



APPENDIX. 



261 



tions driven out by Joshua; the Philistines whom 
David extirpated, and the Amorites. Procopius 
says, in his time two marble columns were at Tan- 
gier, bearing this inscription : " We fly from the 
robber Joshua, the son of Nun." The traveller See- 
tzer, on the authority of a Berber pilgrim, asserts 
that the Berbers of Maghrib or Morocco, who come 
through Nubia with their caravans on their way to 
Mecca, understand the dialect of the Berbers of 
the Nile. Any relationship has, however, been 
doubted. 



C, page 86. 

The Egyptians had three sorts of writing : the epis- 
tolary or demotic; the ordinary current hand; the 
ieratic, used by the priests alone, and the hierogly- 
phic or monumental character. It had long been 
conjectured that the hieroglyphics represented let- 
ters. Now, in any series of their hieroglyphics, it 
will be observed that there are certain groups en- 
closed in an oblong with rounded corners ; and it 
has been thought highly probable that these car- 
touches contained proper names, for, of course, how- 
ever other things may be represented, either by 
their exact resemblances, or by arbitrary and con- 
ventional signs, proper names can only be expressed 
by phonetic (or sound-expressing) characters. This 
is the case even in Chinese, where the language, in 
order to represent objects, is reduced to the necessity 
of adopting an artificial combination of sounds, to de- 



262 APPENDIX. 

note a person or a place. Of these conjectures, the 
discovery of the Rosetta stone was destined to prove 
the truth. This stone was discovered by the French 
in digging a pit at Alexandria, and was captured 
by the English on its way to France. It is an ir- 
regular block of basalt, smooth on one side, and 
many discoveries owe their origin to the knowledge 
which it has supplied. It contains three inscrip- 
tions, one in Greek, a second in the enchorial, and 
a third in hieroglyphics, all containing much the 
same matter. Dr. Young concluded that one of the 
oblongs in this inscription included the name of 
Ptolemy ; and another, in which was, what he con- 
sidered justly, the sign of the feminine gender, the 
name of Berenice. But Dr. Young erred in con- 
sidering each hieroglyphic to be syllabic, and to re- 
present a consonant with its vowel, and reading the 
names here, not (as was afterwards proved correct), 
Ptolmes and Brncks, but Ptolemeas and Berenika. 
Subsequently, at Philse, an obelisk was discovered, 
on which were two of these cartouches joined to- 
gether. One of these contained the group already 
explained in the Rosetta stone, by the name of 
Ptolemy : the other, a name composed in part of 
the same letters, and followed by the sign of the fe- 
minine gender. The obelisk had been on a base 
bearing a Greek inscription, which contained a pe- 
tition of the priests of Isis to Ptolemy and Cleopatra, 
and spoke of a monument to be raised to them. 
There was, consequently, little doubt that their 
names would appear on the obelisk ; and it was 
evident that the letters P T L were represented in 



APPENDIX. 



263 



the female name, by the same letters as occurred in 
the king's. Thus there could.be no reasonable doubt 
as to this second name, which put the learned in 
possession of the other letters which enter into its 
composition. The late discovery, or rather re-an- 
nouncement, by Dr. Lepsius of another copy of the 
Rosetta stone, may throw much more light on this 
interesting question. — See Champollion and Young's 
Works. 



D, page 103. 

The enterprising traveller Cailliaud, on his return 
from Egypt, brought a remarkable mummy discovered 
at Thebes. It had on its case a Greek legend, much 
defaced, and a zodiac, exactly resembling that of Den- 
derah. M. Letronne has restored the inscription, 
and discovered the mummy to be that of Ptemenon, 
the son of Soter and Cleopatra, who died, set. twenty- 
one years, four months, twenty-two days, in the 19th 
year of Trajan, the 8th Payni, or June 2, a.d. 116. 
The zodiac, like that of Denderah, is protected by 
a female figure, out of proportion to the rest, whose 
arms are extended ; and it exhibits the zodiacal 
signs in two parallel bands, ascending and descend- 
ing in the same order, and in a similar style. Even 
the cow reposing in a boat, and emblematic of Isis, 
or of Sirius, is not wanting. Nothing can be more 
alike than the two representations. But in the 
smaller painting there is one peculiarity : the sign of 
Capricorn is withdrawn from the series, and placed 



2,64 



APPENDIX. 



over the head of the figure in an isolated situation, 
Now, from such a representation being on a mummy, 
it must relate to the deceased, and be astrological 
and not astronomical. This is easily verified. We 
know the exact age of Ptemenon, with the date of 
his death, and find by computation that he was born 
on the 12th of January, a.d. 95. On that day the 
sun is situated at nearly two-thirds of Capricorn, 
and the detached sign can be no other than that 
under which the individual lived, and was his " na- 
tale astrum," or the ruler of his fate through life. 

A slight inspection will show, that while the most 
ancient columns at Thebes are simple in their capi- 
tals, which are either in the shape of a bell, (the 
open lotus,) or a prolongation of the Doric capital, 
(the same flower when closed,) the shafts being po- 
lygonal or fluted, those at Esneh and Denderah 
are laboriously rich with foliage and fruit, and present 
many features of the Corinthian style. More than 
this, the cutting is not Egyptian. Now, an inscrip- 
tion was copied by two French artists, in which it 
is stated that two Egyptians caused the paintings in 
the small temple at Esneh to be executed in the 
tenth year of Antoninus, a. d. 147. There is also 
on the temple at Denderah a Greek inscription, 
declaring that it is dedicated to the safety of Ti- 
berius.— See Wiseman's eighth lecture. 



APPENDIX. 



265 



E, page 130. 

It has generally been supposed that the city in 
which the Pharaoh of the Exodus resided, is that at 
present called " Misr el Attik," Old Cairo, a little 
to the south of Grand Cairo, which is at present 
called Misr. At the interview between Moses, Aaron, 
and Pharaoh, on the midnight in which the firstborn 
were smitten, Pharaoh at length gave the Israelites 
leave to depart, and those in the city and neighbour- 
hood, doubtless, immediately took advantage of the 
permission. But the chief bulk of the people were 
in the land of Goshen, on the eastern bank of the 
Nile, with their cattle, and this place of departure 
may be meant by the second place from which the 
Israelites set out, "and the children of Israel jour- 
neyed from Rameses to Succoth," Exod. xii. 37. 
The difficulty is, to settle the place of this Rameses. 
We are told that the Israelites built for Pharaoh 
two treasure cities, Rameses and Pithon. If Pithon 
was ancient Pelusium, the extremity of Pharaoh's 
dominions to the east, Rameses might be towards 
the west. In Niebuhr's map of Egypt, south of the 
canal to Alexandria, is a district called Ramsis. At 
Succoth, then, we may presume, the Israelites as- 
sembled from all parts. This is most probably Birket 
el Hadj, the Pilgrim's pool, where at this day the 
caravans assemble, on their way to Mecca; some 
distance towards Suez. From Succoth, the next 
station was Etham, a more difficult place to deter- 
mine, being " on the edge of the wilderness," which 

N 



266 



APPENDIX. 



marks it as not far in the direct road to the Red 
Sea. The command was " turn and encamp.*" This 
expression presents some difficulty. The idea enter- 
tained is, that from some point to the north of the 
Eed Sea, the Israelites turned to the south, and 
encamped before Pihahiroth. The whole command is 
this, "Encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol 
and the sea." Now, if we suppose Pihahiroth to be 
the gullet or narrow entrance to the lagune which 
terminate the Eed Sea to the north, Migdol may- 
stand for Bir Suez, and Baalzephon may be Suez. 

Now, in answer to this, the residence of Pharaoh 
was Memphis, which Strabo says was eleven miles 
from the Delta, and five from the Pyramids, and 
not Old Cairo, which was only built in the first 
century of the Hegira. The distance marked during 
the three days before arriving at the sea, was much 
greater than subsequent days' journeys, but then 
they were forced marches, and cultivated land may 
then have extended much farther to the East, so as to 
enable the Israelites to march from Etham on the edge 
of the wilderness, to Pihahiroth, on the entrance of the 
mountains near the sea, in one day. I think it un- 
likely that the Israelites crossed above Suez, where 
there is not sufficient depth or width to overwhelm 
the vast host of the Egyptians, or to occupy the Israel- 
ites a considerable part of the night, as was the case, in 
effecting a passage. "The Lord," it is said, " caused 
the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that 
night," and it was not until the morning, when the 
Israelites had passed, and the Egyptians were in the 
middle of their passage, that the sea "returned to 



APPENDIX. 



267 



its strength." Others have thought, that the passage 
was effected lower down, at the Wady Tawarah. 
This would present extreme difficulty, as the dis- 
tance from the land of Goshen to the Red Sea 
would be increased to a length impracticable for a 
three days' journey. Wilkinson is of opinion, that 
the Scriptures, with but the exception of one poetical 
passage, speak of the destruction of Pharaoh's host, 
rather than that of the monarch himself, and, accord- 
ingly, in his Chronology, we find that Thothmes 
the Third, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, lived forty- 
three years after that event. Rossellini, however, 
believes the exodus to have taken place under Rameses, 
and the last year of his reign coincides exactly in 
the chronological computation which he has adopted. 
Now, it is a remarkable fact, that Amunoph the 
Second, the son and successor of Thothmes the Third, 
is represented in a drawing at Thebes, as having 
come to the throne very young, and under the tute- 
lage of his mother. All tradition is in favour of the 
actual death of Pharaoh ; and the Arabs even still 
assert, that the monarch is occasionally to be seen 
near the scene of his overthrow. The name of 
Rameses, which so often occurs in the hieroglyphics 
as that of the Egyptian kings, and who gave the 
name to their land, (see Gen. xlvii. 11); and to their 
city (see Exod. i. 11. xii. 37,) is most probably con- 
nected with Raamah the son of Cush, and grandson of 
Ham. May it be Raamah-se, (the son of Raamah) ?* 

* Various are the accounts handed down to us by tradition and 
history of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and the 
subsequent interposition of God in their favour at the Red Sea. 



268 



APPENDIX. 



F, page 163. 

The exact antiquity to be attributed to Petra is 
very doubtful. In 2 Kings, xiv. 7, we read that 
Amaziah, king of J udah, took Selah ; and the same 
name again occurs at Is. xvi. 1. In all these cases, 
this name has been supposed to refer to Petra ; but 
I think, perhaps, that the identity of the two is 
very difficult to prove ; and that the word " rock," 
applied as a name to the city which Amaziah took, 
and afterwards given by the Romans to a city of 
Edom, proves but little, when the rocky position of 
the cities might easily suggest the name, independ- 
ently of former associations. Again, the remains 

Part of an Egyptian army is represented as retiring from Egypt 
and settling in Palestine, in the reign of Apis, son of Phoroneus. 
As this is affirmed by Palemo, a Greek author, he may have 
committed the probable mistake of putting an Egyptian for an 
Hebraic army. Another account states, that the Jews under 
Moses their leader, were expelled from Egypt for leprosy. A 
perverted account of the "grievous murrain," or the circumstance of 
the hand of Moses having become leprous at God's command 
may have given rise to this fiction. Artapanus, who lived a hun- 
dred years before the Christian aera, expressly affirms the fact of 
the division of the waters of the Red Sea, of the pursuit of the 
Egyptians, and of their being exposed to flashes of lightning 
whilst following the Israelites, an almost literal translation of the 
words " And the Lord looked upon them through the fire and the 
cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians/' Diodorus states, 
that the Icthyophagi, a people who inhabited the southern bor- 
ders of the Red Sea, had an immemorial tradition of the reflux of 
its waters, of its being dried up to the very bottom, and of the 
waters returning with a mighty force to their former place. 



APPENDIX. 



269 



in Petra, which show any architectural character- 
istics whereby the date might be determined, cer- 
tainly do not point to a period more ancient than 
that when the Eoman empire comprehended the 
ancient Edom. The most ancient name given to 
this country was Seir, and it was so called from Seir 
the Horite (mountaineer), who was the ancestor of 
the children of Seir in the land of Edom. The 
period at which he lived must have been very re- 
mote, since his children were already a powerful and 
numerous people in the days of Abraham, before 
the birth of Isaac, when Chedorlaomer and his allies 
came to make war against the kings of Pentapolis. 
In Deut. ii. 22, we read that God destroyed the Ho- 
rims who dwelt in Mount Seir from before the chil- 
dren of Esau, who succeeded them and dwelt in 
their stead. It is remarkable, that in the blessing 
given by Isaac to Esau, the temporal blessings are 
hardly inferior to those pronounced upon Jacob : 
" Thy dwelling," said his aged father, " shall be the 
fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from 
above," (Gen. xxvii. 39). More than four hundred 
years after this event had elapsed, when the Israel- 
ites, arriving in the course of their wanderings at 
Kadesh on the borders of Edom, sent this humble 
request to the king of Edom by Moses : — " Let us 
pass, I pray thee, through thy country : we will not 
pass through the fields, or through the vineyards ; 
neither will we drink of the waters of the wells : 
we will go by the king's highway, we will not turn 
to the right hand nor to the left, until we have 
passed thy borders," (Numb. xx. 17). Notwith- 

N 3 



270 



APPENDIX. 



standing the reasonable character of this demand, 
and the suppliant manner in which it was urged, the 
answer of the king of Edom was, " Thou shalt not 
pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the 
sword." On the renewal of their request, the an- 
swer given to the Israelites was more decisive still, 
— " Thou shalt not go through." 

The Edomites continued independent till David's 
reign, who subdued them according to the promise 
given to Jacob, that he should rule Esau. At the 
end of Solomon's reign they rebelled ; and, though 
they were often subdued, yet the conquests were 
not permanent. In the person of Herod and his 
descendants, they gave a king to the Jews. Strabo 
says that the city of Petra was the capital of the 
Nabathseans, the descendants of Nebajoth, the son 
of Ishmael ; that the city was situated in a plain, 
full of gardens, and watered by fountains, but all 
encompassed by rocks : and Pliny gives the same 
description, a striking contrast to the Petra which 
the traveller visits, — the deserted city of the desolate 
arid desert, the almost forgotten encampment of a 
race of wandering Bedouins. That the physical 
character of the surrounding country is altered, since 
it could boast its vineyards and gardens, and was 
called " the fortress of the earth," who can doubt ? 

The prophet Obadiah utters against the inhabi- 
tants of Edom the bitterest and severest denunci- 
ations, unequalled in the whole record of prophecy, 
for their woes. " Behold ! I have made thee small 
among the heathen : thou art greatly despised. The 
pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that 



APPENDIX. 



271 



dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation 
is high ; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me 
down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself 
as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among 
the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the 
Lord," Obad. hi. 4. And Jeremiah, Joel, Ezekiel, 
and, indeed, most of the Jewish prophets were com- 
missioned to denounce God's wrath against the de- 
scendants of Edom, and to proclaim that the land, 
which was once so rich and fruitful, should be a 
" desolation" and a " desolate wilderness," " because 
that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah 
by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended and 
revenged himself upon them," Ezek. xxv. 12. And 
who can visit Edom at present, and not recognise 
the full and literal accomplishment of these severe 
prophetic denunciations ? Who can pass through 
the length and breadth of the desolate and solitary 
Idumsea, and wander amongst the scenes of savage 
grandeur of the rock-built city, so peculiarly its own, 
without feeling a sentiment of awe at the extinction 
of a people, so early renowned for wisdom and power, 
and interesting above all, as the descendants of him 
who was the natural channel for the communication 
of God's choicest blessings, the gift of a promised 
Redeemer? Whether the present desolate state of 
Idumsea results wholly from some preternatural cause, 
some curse from above resting upon its soil, produc- 
ing utter and irremediable barrenness, or that this 
desolate appearance has been brought about to a 
great extent from neglect and want of cultivation, 
rather than from a change in the physical character 



272 



APPENDIX. 



of the country, matters not. In either case, the sure 
word of prophecy has been fulfilled ; a land once 
fruitful and flourishing has become a bye-word for 
barrenness and desolation. The employment of man's 
agency to bring about God's purposes is an occurrence 
by no means uncommon. I must own it appeared to 
me, when I visited Petra, and looked upon the terraces 
where evidently once the fig-tree, the vine, the olive, 
and other trees were cultivated, that, with a little 
care, similar results might again be produced, and 
that there was no physical hindrance to check their 
gradual reproduction to a limited extent. But what 
would such scanty signs of laboured cultivation in 
the midst of the arid waste recall of Edom, " The 
fatness of the earth, and watered by the dews of 
heaven 2" But that even this will come to pass, I 
do not believe ; for, though the days will be hereafter 
when God " will . turn unto Israel, and it shall be 
tilled and sown, and man and beast shall be multi- 
plied, and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes 
be builded," in Edom no such dav of restoration 
shall arise ; as was their offence, so shall their retri- 
bution be : bloody and cruel as they were in the day 
of Jerusalem's sorrow, " blood shall pursue them for 
ever." " I will make thee perpetual desolations, and 
thy cities shall not return, and so shall ye know that 
I am the Lord," Ezekiel, xxv. 9. 



APPENDIX. 



273 



G, page 247. 

A great desideratum in Egyptian chronology seems 
to be, to identify the great Sesostris with one of 
the names in the hieroglyphics. Wilkinson considers 
him identical with Rameses the Second— the war- 
rior whose exploits and triumphs over distant nations 
are commemorated at considerable length on the 
temples at Carnac, Luxor, Ebsamboul, and elsewhere. 
None other of the Egyptian kings have left any 
memorial of their prowess at all commensurate with 
the fame attributed to Sesostris, who carried his arms 
into Assyria, India, Scythia, and Thrace; and the 
fact of the discovery of the tablet, containing the 
name of Barneses had strongly corroborated in many 
the previous idea of the identity of Sesostris and 
Rameses the Second. The opinion of Champollion 
coincides with this, but he is said to have lately 
changed it, and others have considered that Rameses 
the Third is more probably the true Sesostris ; 
others, again, suppose, that the Sethos ^Egyptus 
of Manetho may be identical with that king. Sir 
Isaac Newton even considers him to be the same as 
Osiris. 

The name Sesostris seems to suggest as its deriva- 
tion Se (or the son of) Osertasen or Osiris ; and 
really it seems to savour of probability, that Sesos- 
tris may be so far an imaginary personage, as that 
the exploits and victories of two or three different 
warlike Egyptian kings may have been confused by 
the priests ignorantly or intentionally, and attri- 



274 



APPENDIX » 



buted to one conquering hero with a name thus 
changed a la Grecque, and that, however we stretch 
his reign to the long period of sixty-six years, or 
seek for other facilities for comprising in one life the 
various and arduous undertakings of Sesostris, there 
will still be much difficulty. Amongst other inven- 
tions, history ascribes to Sesostris, king of Egypt, the 
honour of those first rude outlines of geographical deli- 
neation, on which the ancients conferred the name 
of maps ; for, that conqueror having subjected the 
greatest part of the earth to his rule, caused the 
regions which his victorious arms traversed, to be 
described on tables, copies of which were by his 
or^er, distributed over Egypt and Asia. 



THE END. 



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